Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the children's empathy quotient and systemizing quotient: 4-12 years.
The Chinese EQ-C and SQ-C are ready for use; they reliably flag the empathy-systemizing profile in autistic and typical kids.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Wang et al. (2022) translated two short parent checklists into Chinese. One tracks empathy. The other tracks systemizing. Kids aged 4-12 years were tested.
Parents answered the same items twice, two weeks apart. The team ran stats to check if scores stayed steady and if the scales truly split autistic kids from typical kids.
What they found
Both scales held up well. Internal consistency was high. Test-retest scores were strong. Autistic kids scored lower on empathy and higher on systemizing, just like in Western samples.
The Chinese forms now have local norms. Clinicians can use them with confidence.
How this fits with other research
The result lines up with Murphy et al. (2014). That team also showed a parent-teacher scale can separate autistic youth from peers. Both studies used similar age ranges and found positive numbers.
Hou et al. (2023) did the same kind of work in China. They validated a parent form for school transition. Xin et al. now fills the gap for empathy and systemizing in the same language.
Katz et al. (2018) shortened a sleep scale for autistic kids. Xin et al. did not shorten, but both papers give clinicians a ready-to-use form for 4-11-year-olds.
Why it matters
If you serve Mandarin-speaking families, you now have free, validated scales. Hand the parent the 55-item EQ-C or SQ-C while the child plays. In ten minutes you get a quick snapshot of social-cognitive style. Use the scores to pick targets for social-skills groups or to explain why a child loves rules and maps. No need to wait for English norms that may not fit.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We aimed to validate the Children's Empathy Quotient (EQ-C) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ-C) in Mainland China, which can reflect the profiles of empathizing and systemizing, and describing specific characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gender-typical behaviors in general population. A total of 800 typically developing (TD) children, aged 4-12 years was recruited initially with whose parents/guardians complete the measurements, and 782 TD children who met inclusion criteria were finally included. A 23-item three-factor EQ-C and a 22-item four-factor SQ-C was developed with good internal consistency (Omega total values of 0.87 and 0.86) and test-retest reliability (Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.82 and 0.69). In TD children, girls scored significantly higher on EQ-C (31.4 ± 7.8 vs. 28.2 ± 7.7) but there were no gender differences in SQ-C scores. TD children showed different cognitive styles (empathizing-dominant for girls with 42.6% identified as Type E; systemizing-dominant for boys with 40.7% identified as Type S). A further sample of 222 children with ASD indicated that they scored lower on EQ/SQ-C compared to TD children (13.2 ± 5.1 vs. 29.7 ± 7.9, 12.4 ± 5.8 vs. 23.5 ± 8.3) and were generally systemizing-dominant (Type S: 50.8% for boys and 64.0% for girls). Autistic children scored higher on the SQ-C in those without intellectual disability and with higher paternal education level and family income (14.2 ± 6.1 vs. 10.9 ± 5.0, 13.3 ± 6.2 vs. 11.5 ± 5.1, 13.7 ± 5.6 vs. 11.9 ± 5.8), while there were no differences in the EQ-C. This study indicated good reliability and validity of the Chinese version of EQ/SQ-C, which can be used in Chinese children with and without ASD. LAY SUMMARY: We developed the Chinese version of the Children's Empathy Quotient (EQ-C) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ-C) in 782 typically developing (TD) children aged 4-12 years in Mainland China, yielding a 23-item, 3-factor EQ-C and a 22-item, 4-factor SQ-C with good psychometric properties. In TD children, we found gender difference only in scores of EQ-C. Further analyses of 222 autistic children indicated that differences were found in scores of SQ-C when considering their gender, intelligence and socio-economic status.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2022 · doi:10.1002/aur.2743