Measuring Autism Traits in the Adult General Population with the Brief Autism-Spectrum Quotient, AQ-10: Findings from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort.
AQ-10 works for rapid adult screening, but watch two clunky items and always follow up with real-world social probes.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lundin et al. (2019) gave the 10-question Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ-10) to the adults in Stockholm. They checked if the short form still measured one clear trait and if higher scores linked to poorer social skills.
What they found
The AQ-10 mostly held together as one scale. Adults with top 20 % scores reported more social worries and loneliness. Two items about numbers and patterns did not fit well, but the total score still worked for quick screening.
How this fits with other research
Tassé et al. (2013) saw the same link: college students with higher autism traits scored worse on live social-cognition tests. The new study shows the pattern holds outside campus labs.
Dube et al. (1998) already proved a Swedish autism tool could be reliable; Andreas updates the idea for today’s brief surveys.
Hamama et al. (2021) built a new adult self-report for theory-of-mind. Like Andreas, they warn that short tools can miss nuance—both teams say use them only as first-pass screens.
Why it matters
If you need a fast autism-trait snapshot for intake or research, the AQ-10 is good enough. Just re-word or drop the two weak number items if you want cleaner data. Pair the score with a quick social-skill check so you do not over-label clients who simply enjoy math.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The autism-spectrum quotient scale was developed to study autism as a spectrum. Few studies have examined the psychometric properties of the 10 item AQ (AQ-10). We examine the AQ-10 measurement ability and convergent validity in a population health survey (n = 44,722). METHODS: The item severity and item discrimination was assessed using item response theory. Convergent validity was assessed by regressing on ADHD, psychological distress (PD) and having an education in the sciences. RESULTS: Whilst unidimensional, the AQ-10 had some poorly fitting items. Item discrimination ranged from very low to very high. The scale correlated as hypothesised with the regress expected when factoring in ADHD, PD and possessing an eduction in the sciences. CONCLUSION: The AQ-10 has adequate validity in the present sample and may be used in s as a measure of autistic traits. In Conclusion, The AQ-10 has adequate validity to be used in health surveys as a measure of autistic traits, although some items may perform poorly.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3749-9