The Subthreshold Autism Trait Questionnaire (SATQ): development of a brief self-report measure of subthreshold autism traits.
The SATQ is a five-minute self-report that reliably flags mild autism traits in adults and outperforms other short forms.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a short 24-question checklist called the SATQ.
College students and adults with autism filled it out twice.
The goal was to see if the tool could spot mild autism traits in typical adults.
What they found
The SATQ scores stayed steady across weeks.
People with autism scored higher than students.
The brief form did its job without taking long to finish.
How this fits with other research
Nishiyama et al. (2014) later lined up the SATQ against ten other adult checklists.
They still picked the SATQ as the best short option, so the 2012 result held up.
Gergoudis et al. (2020) and Camodeca et al. (2020) also tested autism forms, but for different ages and syndromes, keeping the SATQ the go-to for quick adult self-ratings.
Why it matters
If you need a fast screen for subtle autism traits in bright teens or adults, hand them the SATQ. It takes under five minutes, needs no trained interviewer, and now has head-to-head proof it beats longer rivals. Keep a copy on your tablet for intake or research.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The current study was motivated by a need for a self-report questionnaire that assesses a broad range of subthreshold autism traits, is brief and easily administered, and is relevant to the general population. An initial item pool was administered to 1,709 students. Structural validity analysis resulted in a 24-item questionnaire termed the Subthreshold Autism Trait Questionnaire (SATQ; Cronbach's alpha coefficient = .73, test-retest reliability = .79). An exploratory factor analysis suggested 5 factors. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the 5 factor solution was an adequate fit and outperformed two other models. The SATQ successfully differentiated between an ASD and student group and demonstrated convergent validity with other ASD measures. Thus, the current study introduces and provides initial psychometric support for the SATQ.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2012 · doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1308-8