Validation of a brief quantitative measure of autistic traits: comparison of the social responsiveness scale with the autism diagnostic interview-revised

J Autism Dev Disord. 2003 Aug;33(4):427-33. doi: 10.1023/a:1025014929212.

Abstract

Studies of the broader autism phenotype, and of subtle changes in autism symptoms over time, have been compromised by a lack of established quantitative assessment tools. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-formerly known as the Social Reciprocity Scale) is a new instrument that can be completed by parents and/or teachers in 15-20 minutes. We compared the SRS with the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) in 61 child psychiatric patients. Correlations between SRS scores and ADI-R algorithm scores for DSM-IV criterion sets were on the order of 0.7. SRS scores were unrelated to I.Q. and exhibited inter-rater reliability on the order of 0.8. The SRS is a valid quantitative measure of autistic traits, feasible for use in clinical settings and for large-scale research studies of autism spectrum conditions.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Asperger Syndrome / diagnosis*
  • Asperger Syndrome / psychology
  • Autistic Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Autistic Disorder / psychology
  • Child
  • Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / diagnosis*
  • Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / psychology
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data*
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Social Behavior*