For Publishers
DiscoveryMetadataPeer reviewHostingPublishing
For Researchers
JoinPublishReviewCollect
Register
Blog
About
Search
Advanced search
My ScienceOpen
Search
For Publishers
For Researchers
Blog
About
11
views
43
references
 Top references
cited by
15
    
0 reviews
 Review
0
comments
 Comment
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares
      372
      similar
       All similar

      To submit to Bentham Journals, please click here

      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Defining the Optimal Threshold Scores for Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS Spectrum) in Clinical and General Population

      research-article

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Background:

          The Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS Spectrum) is a recently developed instrument tailored to assess the broad range of full-threshold as well as sub-threshold manifestations related to the autism spectrum. Although it has proved to be a valuable instrument for quantitative assessment of autistic symptoms, the AdAS Spectrum still lacks validated diagnostic thresholds.

          Objective:

          The aim of this study was to define the best cut-off scores of the AdAS Spectrum for determining the presence of subthreshold autistic traits as well as a clinically significant autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

          Methods:

          Our sample was composed of 39 patients with full-blown ASD, 73 subjects with autistic traits, and 150 healthy controls. Subjects were evaluated by trained psychiatrists, who performed a clinical diagnosis according to DSM-5 and then assessed with the AdAS Spectrum and the Autism Spectrum Quotient.

          Results:

          Our results showed that the most discriminant cut-off scores were 70 for identifying subjects with full-blown ASD, and 43 for determining the presence of significant autistic traits.

          Conclusion:

          The threshold values proposed here showed satisfying levels of specificity and sensibility, as well as a good agreement with the diagnosis according to DSM-5 criteria, confirming the validity of the AdAS Spectrum as a psychometric tool for measuring ASD-related conditions in the clinical and general population.

          Related collections

          Most cited references43

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data.

          J R Landis, G Koch (1977)
          This paper presents a general statistical methodology for the analysis of multivariate categorical data arising from observer reliability studies. The procedure essentially involves the construction of functions of the observed proportions which are directed at the extent to which the observers agree among themselves and the construction of test statistics for hypotheses involving these functions. Tests for interobserver bias are presented in terms of first-order marginal homogeneity and measures of interobserver agreement are developed as generalized kappa-type statistics. These procedures are illustrated with a clinical diagnosis example from the epidemiological literature.
          Article 0 comments Cited 1412 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians.

            S. Baron-Cohen, S Wheelwright, R. Skinner … (2001)
            Currently there are no brief, self-administered instruments for measuring the degree to which an adult with normal intelligence has the traits associated with the autistic spectrum. In this paper, we report on a new instrument to assess this: the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Individuals score in the range 0-50. Four groups of subjects were assessed: Group 1: 58 adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA); Group 2: 174 randomly selected controls. Group 3: 840 students in Cambridge University; and Group 4: 16 winners of the UK Mathematics Olympiad. The adults with AS/HFA had a mean AQ score of 35.8 (SD = 6.5), significantly higher than Group 2 controls (M = 16.4, SD = 6.3). 80% of the adults with AS/HFA scored 32+, versus 2% of controls. Among the controls, men scored slightly but significantly higher than women. No women scored extremely highly (AQ score 34+) whereas 4% of men did so. Twice as many men (40%) as women (21%) scored at intermediate levels (AQ score 20+). Among the AS/HFA group, male and female scores did not differ significantly. The students in Cambridge University did not differ from the randomly selected control group, but scientists (including mathematicians) scored significantly higher than both humanities and social sciences students, confirming an earlier study that autistic conditions are associated with scientific skills. Within the sciences, mathematicians scored highest. This was replicated in Group 4, the Mathematics Olympiad winners scoring significantly higher than the male Cambridge humanities students. 6% of the student sample scored 32+ on the AQ. On interview, 11 out of 11 of these met three or more DSM-IV criteria for AS/HFA, and all were studying sciences/mathematics, and 7 of the 11 met threshold on these criteria. Test-retest and interrater reliability of the AQ was good. The AQ is thus a valuable instrument for rapidly quantifying where any given individual is situated on the continuum from autism to normality. Its potential for screening for autism spectrum conditions in adults of normal intelligence remains to be fully explored.
            Article 0 comments Cited 756 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Predicting Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) from the Systemizing Quotient-Revised (SQ-R) and Empathy Quotient (EQ).

              S Wheelwright, S. Baron-Cohen, N Goldenfeld … (2006)
              Empathizing is a specific component of social cognition. Empathizing is also specifically impaired in autism spectrum condition (ASC). These are two dimensions, measurable using the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). ASC also involves strong systemizing, a dimension measured using the Systemizing Quotient (SQ). The present study examined the relationship between the EQ, AQ and SQ. The EQ and SQ have been used previously to test for sex differences in 5 'brain types' (Types S, E, B and extremes of Type S or E). Finally, people with ASC have been conceptualized as an extreme of the male brain. We revised the SQ to avoid a traditionalist bias, thus producing the SQ-Revised (SQ-R). AQ and EQ were not modified. All 3 were administered online. Students (723 males, 1038 females) were compared to a group of adults with ASC group (69 males, 56 females). (1) To report scores from the SQ-R. (2) To test for SQ-R differences among students in the sciences vs. humanities. (3) To test if AQ can be predicted from EQ and SQ-R scores. (4) To test for sex differences on each of these in a typical sample, and for the absence of a sex difference in a sample with ASC if both males and females with ASC are hyper-masculinized. (5) To report percentages of males, females and people with an ASC who show each brain type. AQ score was successfully predicted from EQ and SQ-R scores. In the typical group, males scored significantly higher than females on the AQ and SQ-R, and lower on the EQ. The ASC group scored higher than sex-matched controls on the SQ-R, and showed no sex differences on any of the 3 measures. More than twice as many typical males as females were Type S, and more than twice as many typical females as males were Type E. The majority of adults with ASC were Extreme Type S, compared to 5% of typical males and 0.9% of typical females. The EQ had a weak negative correlation with the SQ-R. Empathizing is largely but not completely independent of systemizing. The weak but significant negative correlation may indicate a trade-off between them. ASC involves impaired empathizing alongside intact or superior systemizing. Future work should investigate the biological basis of these dimensions, and the small trade-off between them.
              Article 0 comments Cited 123 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
                Bookmark
                All references

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health
                Journal ID (publisher-id): CPEMH
                Title: Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health : CP & EMH
                Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
                ISSN (Electronic): 1745-0179
                Publication date (Electronic): 31 December 2020
                Publication date Collection: 2020
                Volume: 16
                Pages: 204-211
                Affiliations
                [1 ] Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
                [2 ] Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
                [3 ] Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Psychiatry Unit, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
                [4 ] Department of Psychiatry, University of Nalpes SUN, Naples, Italy
                Author notes
                [* ]Address correspondence to this author at Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Tel: +393911105675; E-mail: barbara.carpita1986@ 123456gmail.com
                Article
                Publisher ID: CPEMH-16-204
                DOI: 10.2174/1745017902016010204
                PMC ID: 7931149
                PubMed ID: 33719360
                SO-VID: a8b93a6f-a296-4e1e-b6a2-a33b9d3d440f
                Copyright © © 2020 Dell'Osso et al.
                License:

                This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode), which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 09 July 2020
                Date revision received : 27 October 2020
                Date accepted : 23 November 2020
                Categories
                Subject: Article

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Neurology
                Keywords: autistic traits,autism spectrum disorder,psychometric instrument,adas spectrum,diagnostic threshold,raads
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Neurology
                Keywords: autistic traits, autism spectrum disorder, psychometric instrument, adas spectrum, diagnostic threshold, raads

                Comments

                Comment on this article

                scite_

                Similar content372

                See all similar

                Cited by15

                See all cited by

                Most referenced authors562

                See all reference authors