Cross-parent reliability in rating ASD markers in infants

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatric Medicine
• Genetics

Background:

• Early identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is crucial for timely intervention.
• Parental reports are vital for screening, but congruence between mother and father reports requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine agreement and disagreement between mothers and fathers in reporting early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) markers in 12-month-old infants.
• To compare parental perceptions of social-communication and sensory-regulatory behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Mothers (n=80) and fathers (n=78) of 12-month-old infants completed the First Year Inventory (FYI), an ASD screening tool.
• Mothers also completed the Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (ITSEA).
• Statistical analyses included intra-class correlations, Mann-Whitney tests, and linear weighted kappa analyses.

Main Results:

• Moderate correlations were found between mother and father reports on most FYI factors.
• Fathers reported significantly higher scores than mothers on social-communication and sensory processing factors.
• Agreement was poor for gaze-related and reactivity items, while social-communication and sensory-regulatory factors correlated with ITSEA scores.

Conclusions:

• Parental reporting of social-communication markers for early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents greater challenges for consistency than sensory-regulatory markers.
• Discrepancies in parental reporting highlight the need for comprehensive assessment strategies.