Autism Spectrum Quotient

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Autism Spectrum Quotient

Basic Characteristics

  • Description

The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is a self-administered questionnaire aims to identify the degree to which any adult of normal IQ may have traits relating to autism, and can aid in the description of the broader phenotype. The test consists of 50 items, made up of 10 questions assessing five subscales: social skills, communication, imagination, attention to detail, and attention switching.

The AQ is a trait measure, not a diagnostic measure, and scoring high on this measure suggests a greater likelihood to share traits which are similar to features of autism. One study assessing the construct validity of the AQ and whether scores on the AQ can predict performance on a visual test, an adapted block design, found that AQ scores did predict performance on the visual task in the same direction as studies in individuals who are diagnosed with ASD. Individuals who scored at the high end of the AQ performed better on the ‘whole task’ in the block design than those who scored at the low end, but performance was equivalent on the segmented task.

This measure assumes that autism and Asperger syndrome (AS) lie on a continuum, and allows for continuous scores. The scale helps us understand some of the associated behaviors of ASD, without the confounding variables of learning disability or language impairment, therefore, facilitating the understanding of “autistic” behavior. The scores on the AQ may be related to behavioral measures, as some studies have shown. One study found that higher scores on the AQ predicted lower theory of mind performance. Another study found that AQ scores predicted aspects of social cognition. One study found that autistic traits predicted performance on a phonological test, where higher AQ scores predicted less interference from the lexicon in identifying a word versus a non-word. 1

  • History
  • Other Versions

An abridged version of the AQ (AQ-short) has been created. The AQ short has 28 items and has been validated in 3 independent samples composed of both clinical and control groups. There are two higher order factor structures in the AQ-Short which assess 'social/behavioral difficulties' and 'fascination with numbers'. AQ-short has a high correlation rate with the full version of AQ.2


Scoring

The items can be scored on a four-point (Likert) scale (‘strongly disagree’, ‘disagree’, ‘agree’, ‘strongly agree’), which has been shown to increase reliability and validity, or it could be scored on a binary scale (‘agree’ or ‘disagree’). Half of the questions elicits an “agree” response, while the other half a “disagree response.” The maximum score on the AQ, when summing all the scores of each item, is 200. 1


Psychometrics (validity and reliability)

UK samples have shown that the AQ and its subscales have satisfactory to near-satisfactory reliabilities. The reliability was good for total AQ scores in all the studies. One US sample found reliabilities marginally lower, which may be due to interpretation differences in the items. Traits assessed by the AQ show high heritability and are stable cross-culturally in both Dutch and Japanese samples.

There is some debate about the factor structure of the AQ. Originally, five subscales were suggested: social skill, communication, imagination, attention to detail, and attention switching. Two other studies have shown a three-factor structure consisting of social skills, details/patterns, and communication/mind reading. Another study suggested a two factor scale of social interaction and an attention to detail factor. 1


References

1. Steward, ME et. al. Autistic traits predict performance on the block design. Autism. 2009 Mar;13(2):133-42. PMID 1926168

2. Hoekstra RA et. al. The Construction and Validation of an Abridged Version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ-Short). J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Aug 10. PMID 20697795

Related Information

  • Indicators (dependent variables, conditions, or contrasts; measurement variables used for analysis) associated with this task (vote or nominate by editing this page):


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  • Primary Species

humans

External Resources

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