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Rapid video-referenced ratings of reciprocal social behavior in toddlers: a twin study

Natasha Marrus1, Anne L Glowinski1, Theodore Jacob2

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines
|February 14, 2015
PubMed

Insights

A new video-referenced rating scale (vrRSB) allows caregivers to quantitatively measure reciprocal social behavior (RSB) in toddlers. This tool shows high reliability and heritability, aiding in early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) detection and intervention tracking.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental psychology
  • Behavioral genetics
  • Clinical psychology

Background:

  • Reciprocal social behavior (RSB) is crucial for social development and a core deficit in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
  • Current ASD screening methods for toddlers are categorical, lacking quantitative measures for tracking developmental progress or intervention effectiveness.
  • Quantitative measurement of RSB in toddlers is needed for precise developmental assessment and monitoring treatment responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a novel, rapid, quantitative measure of reciprocal social behavior (RSB) in toddlers.
  • To assess the reliability, heritability, and validity of the video-referenced rating of reciprocal social behavior (vrRSB) scale.
  • To evaluate the utility of vrRSB for differentiating developmental trajectories and informing early ASD assessment.

Main Methods:

  • Developed and validated the 20-minute video-referenced rating of reciprocal social behavior (vrRSB) scale for untrained caregivers.
  • Collected data from 252 toddler twins (MZ and DZ pairs) rating their twins' RSB at two time points, 6 months apart.
  • Administered the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) and the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory Short Form (MCDI-s) for concurrent validity assessment.

Main Results:

  • The vrRSB demonstrated excellent 6-month test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.704) and continuous score distribution.
  • Monozygotic (MZ) twins showed significantly higher RSB concordance (ICC = 0.863) than dizygotic (DZ) twins (ICC = 0.231), indicating strong heritability.
  • VrRSB scores clearly distinguished between children passing and failing the M-CHAT (t = -8.588, p < .000) and correlated inversely with vocabulary development.

Conclusions:

  • Toddler vrRSB scores are continuously distributed, highly heritable, and stable, similar to quantitative autistic trait measures in older individuals.
  • The vrRSB scale exhibits minimal measurement error and captures developmental progression in RSB from 18-24 months.
  • This tool has potential for serial quantification of early autistic syndrome severity and monitoring intervention effects, while also informing the genetic-environmental basis of RSB.
Abstract

Keywords:
Autismreciprocal social behaviortoddlerstwinsvideo

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