A number of population studies have demonstrated the heritability and continuous distribution of autistic traits in community samples of children, adolescents, and adults. There is also growing research evidence that subclinical social, communication, and behavioral autistic traits are present to varying degrees in the general population.
Family studies have provided consistent evidence of a broader autism phenotype (BAP-elevated, but subclinical, levels of autistic traits) among relatives of individuals with ASD. Traits are “habitual patterns of behaviour, thought, and emotion, which are stable over time and exist in all individuals to a varying degree” (, p. An inability to identify discrete ASD phenotypes suggests that exploring quantitative, rather than qualitative, differences in individuals with ASD and in those in the general population is likely to be a reliable and valid approach to studying autistic symptoms and traits in clinical and unselected populations. In clinical practice, while diagnostic stability for the broader diagnosis of ASD is high, ASD subgroup diagnostic classification is often difficult and unreliable. This shift in the way we conceptualize ASD stems in part from increased recognition of the limitations of the categorical approach.
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In contrast to the earlier edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), which differentiated between different subgroups of ASD, a major revision in the DSM-5 is the removal of the categorically defined ASD subgroups and the creation of a uni-dimensional diagnostic category of ASD. Findings are discussed in relation to existing literature and future directions for the validation of the Q-CHAT.Īutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of complex, pervasive, heterogeneous neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by impairments in social communication and interaction and by restricted and circumscribed behaviors and interests. The Q-CHAT was found to have a three-factor structure, acceptable internal consistency for its two main factor scores (social/communication and non-social/behavioral), normally distributed scores in an unselected sample, and similar structure and measurement properties as those reported in other published studies.
Q-CHAT total scores in this sample were higher than those reported in other unselected samples from the UK. Convergent validity was found with the Pervasive Developmental Disorders subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) completed by caregivers when their children were 24 months. Scores were generally stable between 18 and 24 months. Internal consistency was suboptimal for the total and speech/language scores, but acceptable for the social/communication and non-social/behavioral factor scores. Three factors were derived accounting for 38.1 % of the variance: social/communication traits, non-social/behavioral traits, and a speech/language factor. The present study examined internal consistency, factor structure, test-retest stability, and convergent validity of the Q-CHAT in a sample of toddlers in Singapore whose caregivers completed the Q-CHAT at 18 ( n = 368) and 24 months ( n = 396). So far, the Quantitative-Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) is one of very few measures developed for use with toddlers as young as 18 months, but little is known about its measurement properties and factor structure. A number of measures have been developed to assess autistic traits quantitatively in unselected samples. There is growing research evidence that subclinical autistic traits are elevated in relatives of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), continuously distributed in the general population and likely to share common etiology with ASD.
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