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New Interview and Observation Measures of the Broader Autism Phenotype: Impressions of Interviewee Measure

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Abstract

A 20 item observational measure of social functioning, the Impression of Interviewee rating scale, is one of three measures devised to assess the broader autism phenotype. The sample studied included families containing at least two individuals with autism spectrum disorder; observations were undertaken by the researcher who interviewed the subject. An exploratory factor analysis suggested a single factor was most appropriate (Cronbach’s α of 0.78). There was a modest but significant retest correlation of 0.42. Correlations between live ratings and blind consensus ratings of vignettes were high (0.93). Correlations with the interview measures were moderate but statistically significant. In conclusion, the observational scale provides a promising start but further work is required before general use can be recommended.

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Acknowledgments

We are most grateful to all study participants and to the numerous researchers who contributed to the research. The IMGSAC are grateful for project grants from the following funders for this specific work: (1) The Medical Research Council; (2) The Wellcome Trust; and (3) The Nancy Lurie Marks (NLM) Family Foundation (grant GR071470MA). IMGSAC has also received grants from the following funders: (1) BIOMED 2 (CT-97-2759); (2) EC Fifth Framework (QLG2-CT-1999-0094); (3) Telethon—Italy (GGP030227); (4) Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna; (5) The Janus Korczak Foundation; (6) Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; (7) Fondation France Telecom; (8) Conseil Regional Midi-Pyrenees; (9) Danish Medical Research Council; (10) Sofiefonden; (11) The Beatrice Surovell Haskells Fond for Child Mental Health Research of Copenhagen; (12) The Danish Natural Science Research Council (9802210); and (13) The US National Institute of Health.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK

    A. Pickles

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    J. R. Parr, S. Wallace, K. Wittemeyer & A. J. Bailey

  3. Institutes of Neuroscience, and Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK

    J. R. Parr, A. S. Le Couteur & H. McConachie

  4. MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, London, UK

    M. L. Rutter

  5. Department of Child Psychiatry, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    M. V. De Jonge & H. van Engeland

  6. Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches en Psychopathologie, Toulouse, France

    B. Roge & C. Mantoulan

  7. Center for Autisme, Copenhagen, Denmark

    L. Pedersen & T. Isager

  8. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

    F. Poustka & S. Bolte

  9. Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    S. Bolte

  10. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK

    P. Bolton

  11. Cambridge Laboratory for Research in Autism, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    E. Weisblatt

  12. Peterborough Integrated Child Health Service, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation NHS Trust, Peterborough, UK

    E. Weisblatt

  13. Academic Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    J. Green

  14. University Department of Child Psychiatry, Athens, Greece

    K. Papanikolaou

  15. Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    A. J. Bailey

Authors
  1. A. Pickles
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  2. J. R. Parr
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  3. M. L. Rutter
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  4. M. V. De Jonge
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  5. S. Wallace
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  6. A. S. Le Couteur
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  7. H. van Engeland
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  8. K. Wittemeyer
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  9. H. McConachie
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  10. B. Roge
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  11. C. Mantoulan
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  12. L. Pedersen
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  13. T. Isager
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  14. F. Poustka
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  15. S. Bolte
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  16. P. Bolton
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  17. E. Weisblatt
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  18. J. Green
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  19. K. Papanikolaou
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  20. A. J. Bailey
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Pickles.

Additional information

A. Pickles, J R Parr, and M L Rutter contributed equally to this work.

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Pickles, A., Parr, J.R., Rutter, M.L. et al. New Interview and Observation Measures of the Broader Autism Phenotype: Impressions of Interviewee Measure. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 2082–2089 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1810-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1810-2

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