Abstract
We assessed the accuracy of the French version of the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) in adolescents with Asperger syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism (HFA) compared to healthy controls and adolescents with psychiatric disorders (PDs). Three groups of adolescents, aged 11–18, were assessed: 116 with AS/HFA (93 with IQ ≥ 85 and 20 with 70 ≤ IQ < 85), 39 with other PDs, and 199 healthy controls. The AS/HFA group scored significantly higher than the healthy control and PD groups. A cut-off score of 26 was used to differentiate the autism group from healthy controls with 0.89 sensitivity and 0.98 specificity. Scores did not vary by age or sex.
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Abbreviations
- ANCRA:
-
Association Nationale des Centres de Ressources Autisme
- ANOVA:
-
Analysis of variance
- AQ:
-
Autism Spectrum Quotient
- AS:
-
Asperger syndrome
- ASD:
-
Autism spectrum disorder
- FRAPA:
-
Fédération Rhône-Alpes de Pédiatrie Ambulatoire
- HFA:
-
High-functioning autism
- ICD:
-
International classification of diseases
- IQ:
-
Intelligence quotient
- OCD:
-
Obsessive compulsive disorder
- PD:
-
Psychiatric disorder
- PDD-NOS:
-
Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified
- ROC:
-
Receiver-operating characteristic
- SD:
-
Standard deviation
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Association Nationale des Centres de Ressources Autisme (ANCRA) and all of the Autism Resource Centers that helped recruit patients for this study. We would also like to thank Kent Neal (supported by the French Cochrane Center) for proofreading and editing the manuscript.
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Sonié, S., Kassai, B., Pirat, E. et al. The French Version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient in Adolescents: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 1178–1183 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1663-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1663-0