Validation of the autism spectrum screening questionnaire in a total population sample.

• There is a lack of instruments validated for screening of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in general populations and primary care settings. The Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) has previously been shown to have good screening properties in clinical settings. We used the ASSQ to screen a total population of 7-9 year-olds (N = 9430) for ASD in the Bergen Child Study. Parents and teachers filled in the ASSQ, and high-scorers were invited for clinical assessment, along with a large group of screen negative children. We found that the ASSQ was well suited as a general population screen. Combining parent and teacher ASSQ and using cut-off score of >/=17 provided the most efficient screen with sensitivity of 0.91 and specificity of 0.86.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Psykiatri (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Psychiatry (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Autistic Disorder

Diagnosis

Epidemiology

Child

Cross-Sectional Studies

Diagnosis

Differential

Female

Humans

Interview

Psychological

Longitudinal Studies

Male

Mass Screening

Statistics & numerical data

Norway

Observer Variation

Personality Assessment

Statistics & numerical data

Psychometrics

Statistics & numerical data

Questionnaires

ROC Curve

Reference Values

Referral and Consultation

Statistics & numerical data

Reproducibility of Results

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)