Structural validation of the abridged autism spectrum quotient-short form in a clinical sample of people with autism spectrum disorders.
The 28-item AQ-Short keeps its two-factor shape in adults with autism, yet newer data say a three-factor model is better for most uses.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kuenssberg et al. (2014) ran a confirmatory factor analysis on the 28-item Autism Spectrum Quotient-Short Form.
They tested adults who already had an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.
The goal was to see if the two-factor structure held up in a clinical sample.
What they found
The two-factor model fit the data well.
Mean scores stayed stable across most subscales, except for the Numbers/Patterns subscale.
The study gives a green light for using the short form as a quick self-report screen in adults with ASD.
How this fits with other research
English et al. (2020) later tested 11 models in two large general-population samples.
They found a three-factor model fit best and warned that total AQ scores are uninterpretable.
This newer work supersedes the 2014 paper: it says the two-factor structure is too simple and clinicians should use the three subscales (Social Skill, Patterns/Details, Communication/Mindreading) instead.
The 2014 study is still useful for clinicians working solely with diagnosed adults, but for research or mixed samples you should follow the 2020 three-factor guide.
Why it matters
If you screen adults with ASD in clinic, you can keep using the 28-item AQ-Short, but skip the total score.
Report the two factors the 2014 paper validated, yet stay alert: future referrals may need the finer three-factor view from English et al. (2020).
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The primary aim of this article was to provide a structural validation of the 28-item Autism Spectrum Quotient-Short Form questionnaire in a sample of adults with clinically diagnosed autism spectrum disorders (n = 148). Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the proposed structure, comprising a second-order Social Skills factor subsuming first-order factors of Social Skills, Routine, Switching and Imagination, and a Numbers/Patterns factor showed good acceptable fit to the data (χ (2) = 464.27(345), p < .05; comparative fit index = .91; Tucker Lewis index = .90; root mean squared error of approximation = .048; weighted root mean square residual = 0.98). Summed mean scores for the total sample, and males and females separately, showed no significant differences to previously reported means, with the exception of Numbers/Patterns, for which the current sample reported significantly lower means in both males (t = 3.37, p < 0.001) and females (t = 2.33, p < 0.05). The results provide support for both the proposed structure of the AQ-S and the stability of total and subscale mean scores in different samples of participants with autism spectrum disorder diagnoses.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2014 · doi:10.1177/1362361312467708