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A closer look at the Autism Behavior Checklist: discriminant validity and factor structure
N P Wadden1, S E Bryson, R S Rodger
1Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|December 1, 1991
Summary
The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) effectively screens autistic children, achieving 91% accuracy. However, results do not support a single scale or five subscales for autism diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Psychometrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychiatry
Background:
- The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) is a 57-item screening tool for autism.
- Previous research has explored its psychometric properties and diagnostic utility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the psychometric properties of the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC).
- To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the ABC in differentiating autistic children from those with mental retardation and learning disabilities.
Main Methods:
- Professional informants completed the ABC for 67 autistic children and 56 children with mental retardation and learning disabilities.
- Autistic children comprised the total population aged 6-15 in two specific regions.
- Factor analysis was used to examine the underlying structure of the checklist.
Main Results:
- The ABC total score accurately discriminated 91% of children, with 87% of autistic and 96% of non-autistic children correctly classified.
- Classification accuracy remained high even when using only heavily weighted items.
- A 3-factor model explained 32% of the variance, with specific item loadings identified for each factor.
Conclusions:
- The study's findings do not provide empirical support for a single unidimensional scale for autism using the ABC.
- There is limited evidence to support subdividing the ABC into five subscales based on symptom areas.