Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Comparison of Three Self-Report Measures of the Broader Autism Phenotype in a Non-Clinical Sample

  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Three self-report measures of the broader autism phenotype (BAP) were evaluated in terms of their internal consistency, distribution of scores, factor structure, and criterion-related validity in a non-clinical sample. All measures showed a continuous distribution. The SRS-A and BAPQ showed expected sex differences and were superior to the AQ in terms of internal consistency. The proposed factor structure of the BAPQ replicated better than the proposed structures of the other measures. All measures showed evidence of criterion validity via correlations with related constructs and each measure incremented the others in predicting related constructs. However, the SRS-A and BAPQ were generally stronger in this domain. Recommendations for the use of these instruments for measuring the BAP in non-clinical populations are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The term SRS will be used when referring to the original measure used with children ages 4–17. The term SRS-A will be used for the one study using the adult version as well as our current research. It is assumed that the psychometric properties reported for the SRS are similar to those of the SRS-A.

  2. Detailed EFA results are available upon request.

  3. This may be due, in part, to its 0/1 scoring scheme; however, other studies of the AQ which have used a four-point scoring scheme have found similar results (Austin 2005).

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, text revision (4th ed.). Washington: American Psychiatric Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Austin, E. J. (2005). Personality correlates of the broader autism phenotype as assessed by the autism spectrum quotient (AQ). Personality and Individual Differences, 38(2), 451–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auyeung, B., Allison, C., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2010). Defining the broader, medium and narrow autism phenotype among parents using the autism spectrum quotient (AQ). Molecular Autism, 1(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Axelrod, S. R., Grilo, C. M., Sanislow, C., & McGlashan, T. H. (2001). Schizotypal personality questionnaire-brief: Factor structure and convergent validity in inpatient adolescents. Journal of Personality Disorders, 15(2), 168–179.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, A., Le Couteur, A., Gottesman, I., Bolton, P., Simonoff, E., Yuzda, E., et al. (1995). Autism as a strongly genetic disorder: Evidence from a British twin study. Psychological Medicine, 25(01), 63–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Bolton, P., Wheelwright, S., Short, L., Mead, G., Smith, A., et al. (1998). Autism occurs more often in families of physicists, engineers, and mathematicians. Autism, 2, 296–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 5–17.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, P., Macdonald, H., Pickles, A., Rios, P., Goode, S., Crowson, M., et al. (1994). A case control family history study of autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35(5), 877–900.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Connor, K. M., Davidson, J. R. T., Churchill, L. E., Sherwood, A., Weisler, R. H., & Foa, E. (2000). Psychometric properties of the social phobia inventory (SPIN): New self-rating scale. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 176(4), 379–386.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N. (2002). The social responsiveness scale. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N., & Todd, R. D. (2003). Autistic traits in the general population: A twin study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60(5), 524–530.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N., & Todd, R. D. (2005). Intergenerational transmission of subthreshold autistic traits in the general population. Biological Psychiatry, 57(6), 655–660.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N., Davis, S. A., Todd, R. D., Schindler, M. K., Gross, M. M., Brophy, S. L., et al. (2003). Validation of a brief quantitative measure of autistic traits: comparison of the social responsiveness scale with the autism diagnostic interview-revised. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33(4), 427–433.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N., Gruber, C. P., Davis, S., Hayes, S., Passanante, N., & Przybeck, T. (2004). The factor structure of autistic traits. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(4), 719–726.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N., Lajonchere, C., Lutz, M., Gray, T., Abbacchi, A., McKenna, K., et al. (2006). Autistic social impairment in the siblings of children with pervasive developmental disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 294–296.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N., LaVesser, P. D., Zhang, Y., Abbacchi, A. M., Gray, T., & Todd, R. D. (2007). Rapid quantitative assessment of autistic social impairment by classroom teachers. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(12), 1668–1681.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N., Abbacchi, A. M., LaVesser, P. D., Reed, H., Givens, L., Chiang, L., et al. (2009). Developmental course of autistic social impairment in males. Development and Psychopathology, 21(1), 127–138.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Pauw, S. S. W., Mervielde, I., Van Leeuwen, K. G., & De Clercq, B. J. (2010). How temperament and personality contribute to the maladjustment of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Online first. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1043-6.

  • Di Martino, A., Shehzad, Z., Kelly, C., Roy, A. K., Gee, D. G., Uddin, L. Q., et al. (2009). Relationship between cingulo-insular functional connectivity and autistic traits in neurotypical adults. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166(8), 891–899.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foa, E. B., Huppert, J. D., Leiberg, S., Langner, R., Kichic, R., Hajcak, G., et al. (2002). The obsessive-compulsive inventory: Development and validation of a short version. Psychological Assessment, 14(4), 485–496.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folstein, S., & Rutter, M. (1977). Infantile autism: a genetic study of 21 twin pairs. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 18(4), 297–321.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, L. R. (1993). The structure of phenotypic personality traits. American Psychologist, 48(1), 26–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoekstra, R. A., Bartels, M., Verweij, C. J. H., & Boomsma, D. I. (2007). Heritability of autistic traits in the general population. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 161(4), 372–377.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoekstra, R. A., Bartels, M., Cath, D. C., & Boomsma, D. I. (2008). Factor structure, reliability and criterion validity of the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): A study in Dutch population and patient groups. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(8), 1555–1566.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hopwood, C. J., & Donnellan, M. B. (2010). How should the internal structure of personality inventories be evaluated? Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14(3), 332–346.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hopwood, C. J., Pincus, A. L., DeMoor, R. M., & Koonce, E. A. (2008). Psychometric characteristics of the inventory of interpersonal problems—short circumplex (IIP–SC) with college students. Journal of Personality Assessment, 90(6), 615–618.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hurley, R. S. E., Losh, M., Parlier, M., Reznick, J. S., & Piven, J. (2007). The broad autism phenotype questionnaire. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(9), 1679–1690.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hurst, R. M., Mitchell, J. T., Kimbrel, N. A., Kwapil, T. K., & Nelson-Gray, R. O. (2007a). Examination of the reliability and factor structure of the autism spectrum quotient (AQ) in a non-clinical sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(7), 1938–1949.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurst, R. M., Mitchell, J. T., Kimbrel, N. A., Kwapil, T. K., & Nelson-Gray, R. O. (2007b). Examination of the reliability and factor structure of the autism spectrum quotient (AQ) in a non-clinical sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(7), 1938–1949.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurst, R. M., Nelson-Gray, R. O., Mitchell, J. T., & Kwapil, T. R. (2007c). The relationship of Asperger’s characteristics and schizotypal personality traits in a non-clinical adult sample. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(9), 1711–1720.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hyler, S. E. (1996). PDQ-4: Personality diagnostic questionnaire-DSM-IV version. New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll, B. (2010). Broader autism phenotype and nonverbal sensitivity: Evidence for an association in the general population. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(5), 590–598.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll, B., & Hambrick, D. Z. (2011). The relationship between the broader autism phenotype, child severity, and stress and depression in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5(1), 337–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jobe, L. E., & Williams White, S. (2007). Loneliness, social relationships, and a broader autism phenotype in college students. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(8), 1479–1489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • John, O. P., Donahue, E. M., & Kentle, R. L. (1991). The big five inventory: Versions 44 and 54. Berkeley, CA: University of California-Institute of Personality and Social Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanne, S. M., Christ, S. E., & Reiersen, A. M. (2009). Psychiatric symptoms and psychosocial difficulties in young adults with autistic traits. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(6), 827–833.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kunihira, Y., Senju, A., Dairoku, H., Wakabayashi, A., & Hasegawa, T. (2006). ‘Autistic’ traits in non-autistic Japanese populations: Relationships with personality traits and cognitive ability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(4), 553–566.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Landa, R., Piven, J., Wzorek, M. M., Gayle, J. O., Chase, G. A., & Folstein, S. E. (1992). Social language use in parents of autistic individuals. Psychological Medicine, 22(1), 245–254.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E. H., Jr., Leventhal, B. L., DiLvore, P. C., et al. (2000). The autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 205–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Micali, N., Chakrabarti, S., & Fombonne, E. (2004). The broad autism phenotype: Findings from an epidemiological survey. Autism, 8(1), 21–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morey, L. C. (1991). Personality assessment inventory. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, M., Bolton, P. F., Pickles, A., Fombonne, E., Piven, J., & Rutter, M. (2000). Personality traits of the relatives of autistic probands. Psychological Medicine, 30(6), 1411–1424.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Piven, J., & Palmer, P. (1999). Psychiatric disorder and the broad autism phenotype: Evidence from a family study of multiple-incidence autism families. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 557–563.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Piven, J., Palmer, P., Jacobi, D., Childress, D., & Arndt, S. (1997a). Broader autism phenotype: Evidence from a family history study of multiple-incidence autism families. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(2), 185–190.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Piven, J., Palmer, P., Landa, R., Santangelo, S., Jacobi, D., & Childress, D. (1997b). Personality and language characteristics in parents from multiple-incidence autism families. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 74(4), 398–411.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ronald, A., Happé, F., & Plomin, R. (2008). A twin study investigating the genetic and environmental aetiologies of parent, teacher and child ratings of autistic-like traits and their overlap. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 17(8), 473–483.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Soldz, S., Budman, S., Demby, A., & Merry, J. (1995). A short form of the inventory of interpersonal problems circumples scales. Assessment, 2(1), 53–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, M. E., & Austin, E. J. (2009). The structure of the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): Evidence from a student sample in Scotland. Personality and Individual Differences, 47(3), 224–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szatmari, P., MacLean, J. E., Jones, M. B., Bryson, S. E., Zwaigenbaum, L., Bartolucci, G., et al. (2000). The familial aggregation of the lesser variant in biological and nonbiological relatives of PDD probands: A family history study. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 41(5), 579–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tadevosyan-Leyfer, O., Dowd, M., Mankoski, R., Winklosky, B., Putnam, S., McGrath, L., et al. (2003). A principal component analysis of the autism diagnostic interview-revised. Journal of American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 864–872.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velicer, W. F. (1976). Determining the number of components from the matrix of partial correlations. Psychometrika, 41, 321–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wakabayashi, A., Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2006a). Are autistic traits an independent personality dimension? A study of the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) and the NEO-PI-R. Personality and Individual Differences, 41(5), 873–883.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wakabayashi, A., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., & Tojo, Y. (2006b). The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) in Japan: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(2), 263–270.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wheelwright, S., Baron-Cohen, S., Goldenfeld, N., Delaney, J., Fine, D., Smith, R., et al. (2006). Predicting autism spectrum quotient (AQ) from the systemizing quotient-revised (SQ-R) and empathy quotient (EQ). Brain Research, 1079(1), 47–56.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woodbury-Smith, M. R., Robinson, J., Wheelwright, S., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2005). Screening adults for Asperger syndrome using the AQ: A preliminary study of its diagnostic validity in clinical practice. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35(3), 331–335.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 105B Psychology Building, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Brooke Ingersoll, Christopher J. Hopwood, Allison Wainer & M. Brent Donnellan

Authors
  1. Brooke Ingersoll
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christopher J. Hopwood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Allison Wainer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. Brent Donnellan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brooke Ingersoll.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ingersoll, B., Hopwood, C.J., Wainer, A. et al. A Comparison of Three Self-Report Measures of the Broader Autism Phenotype in a Non-Clinical Sample. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 1646–1657 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1192-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1192-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation