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Clinical Utility of Autism Spectrum Disorder Scoring Algorithms for the Child Symptom Inventory-4

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Abstract

Few studies examine the clinical utility of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rating scales for screening referrals to child psychiatry clinics. Parents/teachers from Long Island, NY, completed the Child Symptom Inventory-4, a DSM-IV-referenced rating scale for 6- to 12-year-old clinical referrals with an ASD (N = 317) or nonASD psychiatric (N = 191) diagnosis. Two separate groups of children attending public school, regular education classes in the same geographic area were also rated by their parents (N = 446) and teachers (N = 464). Stepwise forward regression generated a scoring algorithm based on a subset of all CSI-4 items that best differentiated ASD from nonASD children. ROC analyses indicated high levels of sensitivity/specificity for recommended ASD cutoff scores for parent and teacher ratings.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported, in part, by a grant from the Matt and Debra Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Putnam Hall-South Campus, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-8790, USA

    Kenneth D. Gadow & Joseph Schwartz

  2. Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Carla DeVincent

  3. Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Greg Strong

  4. University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Simone Cuva

Authors
  1. Kenneth D. Gadow
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  2. Joseph Schwartz
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  3. Carla DeVincent
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  4. Greg Strong
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  5. Simone Cuva
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Correspondence to Kenneth D. Gadow.

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Gadow, K.D., Schwartz, J., DeVincent, C. et al. Clinical Utility of Autism Spectrum Disorder Scoring Algorithms for the Child Symptom Inventory-4. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 419–427 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0408-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0408-y

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