Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed globally, but recognition, interpretation and reporting may vary across cultures. To compare autism across cultures it is important to investigate whether the tools used are conceptually equivalent across cultures. This study evaluated the factor structure of the parent-reported Autism Spectrum Quotient Short Form in autistic children from China (n = 327; 3 to 17 years) and the Netherlands (n = 694; 6 to 16 years). Confirmatory factor analysis did not support the two-factor hierarchical model previously identified. Exploratory factor analysis indicated culturally variant factor structures between China and the Netherlands, which may hamper cross-cultural comparisons. Several items loaded onto different factors in the two samples, indicating substantial variation in parent-reported autistic traits between China and the Netherlands.
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The author is grateful to all the participants and their families, service centers for their participation in this study.
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FL is funded by China Scholarship Council for the study at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. AMS is funded by Aut.17.006, The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). RAH receives support from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR200842) using UK aid from the UK Government. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. CW is funded by the grants from the Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China (13YJCZH167). The funding bodies did not have a role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis or interpretation of data, or the drafting of the manuscript.
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FL, AMS, SB and CW developed the research questions. SB, AMS, KW, DG and CW were responsible for the data collection. FL analyzed the data. AMS, RG, RAH, CW and SB were involved in interpreting the results. FL was responsible for writing with all authors contributing to edits. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Liu, F., Scheeren, A.M., Grove, R. et al. Exploring Cultural Differences in Autistic Traits: A Factor Analytic Study of Children with Autism in China and the Netherlands. J Autism Dev Disord 52, 4750–4762 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05342-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05342-9