Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ).

The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) has been widely used for measuring autistic characteristics in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Nonetheless, its psychometric validity is yet to be justified. This study tested the factor structure of the AQ by means of principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis using, for the first time, data from 4192 Taiwanese parents (1208 with ASD children and 2984 with typically developing children). Results yielded a 35-item, 5-dimensional factor solution that had favorable psychometric characteristics (RMSEA = .054; NNFI = .962; CFI = .969) than any of the previously-published AQ factor solutions. Subscales of this new AQ-Chinese model were statistically and semantically coherent, namely: Socialness, Mindreading, Patterns, Attention to Details and Attention Switching. The psychometric properties of the AQ-Chinese did not change between clinic-based and community-based data suggesting good fitting for a continuum of autistic expression. Furthermore, the considerable overlap between the AQ-Chinese and the AQ factor structures derived previously using student samples indicated consistency in the manifestation of the autistic profile across different cultures and age groups. Group differences in the AQ-Chinese scores were in line with previous studies, i.e. males generally scored radically higher than females except in Attention to Details. Interestingly, mothers of ASD children reported lower total AQ scores than community mothers yet no significant group difference for the fathers. Important research and clinical implications pertinent to parents with children with ASD and the utility of the AQ were drawn.