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Updated: Jul 26, 2025
Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Validation of the German Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire and replication of sensory processing differences in students
Annalena Zeisel1, Tobias Thiel1, Sebastian B Gaigg2
1Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Medizinische Fakultät, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Background:
The Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire (GSQ) gives insight into sensory processing differences (hypo- and hyper-sensitivity across modalities), which is a clinically defining characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Because there is no validated German version of this instrument, this study aimed at validating the German GSQ. Further, a replication of the GSQ's sensory processing differences was intended.
Methods:
University students of Technische Universität or Universitätsklinikum in Dresden, Germany, were recruited via email distribution or the university homepage and 297 German-speaking students completed the online survey, comprising the German GSQ, Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and Symptom-Checklist (SCL-90). For validation of the German GSQ, confirmatory factor analyses followed by exploratory factor analyses were applied.
Results:
The German GSQ has moderate to low validity, good to acceptable reliability, and a different internal structure from the original GSQ. Replicating the sensory processing differences in students with higher and lower AQ was not successful.
Conclusions:
Results indicate that the GSQ, developed especially for individuals with ASD, is less informative for the general population if there are not enough individuals with higher AQ scores in the sample.
