Can the UK AQ-10 be applicable to Chinese samples with autism spectrum disorder in Hong Kong? Cross-cultural similarities and differences.
The Hong Kong Chinese AQ-10 keeps the UK tool’s accuracy while fitting the culture.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team translated the UK 10-item Autism-Spectrum Quotient into Hong Kong Chinese.
They gave both versions to local adults with and without autism.
They checked if the new form still spotted autism as well as the original.
What they found
The Hong Kong form kept strong accuracy.
It even worked a little better than the UK form in the local sample.
A short 10-item screen can now be used straight away in Cantonese-speaking clinics.
How this fits with other research
Booth et al. (2013) first showed the AQ-10 works in English. Frazier et al. (2023) now show the same tool keeps its power after Chinese translation.
Payne et al. (2020) found parent reports beat self-reports on the full Hong Kong AQ. The new study adds that the brief AQ-10 is also valid, giving clinicians a faster option.
Strunz et al. (2015) warned many cultural retools skip local norms. This study answered by collecting local data and beating the UK benchmark, closing the gap the review flagged.
Why it matters
You can swap the Hong Kong Chinese AQ-10 into intake packets tomorrow. It takes one minute, costs nothing, and now has local proof behind it. Use it to flag adults who need a full autism evaluation, confident the cut-offs fit your Cantonese clients.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The current study aimed at testing and developing alternative short versions of autism spectrum quotient (AQ-10) (adult [self-report], adult [parent-report], adolescent, and child versions) for use in Hong Kong. First, the various versions of AQ-10 developed in the United Kingdom (the AQ-10-UK) were applied to Hong Kong Chinese samples and demonstrated satisfactory discriminative power (AUCs 0.77-0.94). Second, the Hong Kong Chinese versions of AQ-10 (AQ-10-HK) were developed, using the same methodology as in the original UK study. There were some changes in the choice of items and cut-offs. The AQ-10-HK demonstrated slightly greater discriminative power (AUCs 0.88-0.97) to that of the AQ-10-UK, but the differences in AUCs were not statistically significant. Compared to the corresponding full-length versions, both the UK and HK short forms did not seem to lose any significant discriminative power. Yet, the various versions of AQ, be they the full-length or AQ-10, appeared to consistently exhibit slightly smaller AUCs with the Hong Kong Chinese samples than with the UK samples. So, this study found both cross-cultural similarities and differences. The AQ-10-HK was recommended for local practice to maximize the advantage gained. Yet, for international multi-site research collaboration, involving the UK and HK, the original AQ-10-UK can be used for direct comparison of data.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2023 · doi:10.1002/aur.2847