Dimensions of Autistic Traits Rated by Parents of Children and Adolescents with Suspected Autism Spectrum Disorders

Overview

Journal J Autism Dev Disord

Publisher Springer

Date 2021 Jan 9

PMID 33420648

Authors

Teresa Del Giudice

Christina Dose

Anja Gortz-Dorten

Jennifer Steiner

Nicole Bruning

Hannah Bell

Pamela Roland

Daniel Walter

Michaela Junghanel

Manfred Dopfner

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

To examine the factor structure of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the psychometric properties of the German Symptom Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorders (SCL-ASD). Data were collected from 312 clinical referrals with suspected ASD (2-18 years). Confirmatory factor analyses and analyses of reliability, convergent and divergent validity were performed. A bifactor model with one general ASD factor and two specific factors (interaction-communication; restricted, repetitive behaviors) provided an adequate data fit. Internal consistencies of the SCL-ASD subscales and the total scale were > .70. Correlations with measures of ASD traits were higher than correlations with measures of externalizing and internalizing symptoms. The results support a factor structure consistent with DSM-5/ICD-11 criteria. The SCL-ASD has sound psychometric properties.

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