Psychometric properties of the Mandarin version of the autism diagnostic observation Schedule-Generic

The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), involving multiple components of clinical assessments, is challenging. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (ADOS-G), one of the standardized and validated instruments for ASD diagnostic evaluation, has been widely used in many countries. With the preparation of the Mandarin version of the ADOS-G (Mandarin-ADOS-G), this study aims to examine its psychometric properties, including reliability and validity.

The sample included 554 individuals clinically diagnosed with ASD (477 males, 86.1%) and 50 typically developing (TD) individuals (29 males, 58.0%) who were assessed with different modules of the Mandarin-ADOS-G between 4.1 and 34.0 years old with a mean age of 13.0 years (Module 1, n = 40; Module 2, n = 46; Module 3, n = 275; Module 4, n = 243). We evaluated the inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and concurrent validity with the Chinese Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) caregiver-report and self-report forms. The discriminative validity of Mandarin-ADOS-G was also examined.

The Mandarin-ADOS-G demonstrated good inter-rater reliability (agreement of ADOS classification 0.91), good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlations 0.55-0.73), and low to high good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.27-0.86). The concurrent validity showed significant correlations with ADI-R (Pearson correlations 0.22-0.37) and the SRS caregiver-report form (Pearson correlations 0.15-0.23). Moreover, all Mandarin-ADOS-G domains successfully differentiated autistic individuals from TD individuals (all p-values <0.001).

The Mandarin-ADOS-G is a reliable and valid instrument for assisting the diagnosis of ASD in the Mandarin-speaking population.