TY - JOUR

T1 - Application of Psychometric Approach for ASD Evaluation in Russian 3–4-Year-Olds

AU - Наследов, Андрей Дмитриевич

AU - Мирошников, С.А.

AU - Ткачева, Любовь Олеговна

AU - Мирошник, Кирилл Геннадьевич

AU - Ульд Семета, Мериам Базейдовна

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

PY - 2021/7/2

Y1 - 2021/7/2

N2 - Background: Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a significant socio-biological problem due to its wide prevalence and negative outcomes. In the current study, we aimed to develop an autism scale for early and accurate differentiation of 3-to 4-year-olds at risk for ASD since there is no systematic monitoring of young children in Russia yet. Methods: The total sample (N = 324) included 116 children with ASD, 131 children without ASD (healthy controls), and 77 children with developmental delay (DD). An online survey of specialists working with children was conducted based on a specially designed autism questionnaire consisting of 85 multiple-choice tasks distributed across 12 domains. Initially, each child was assessed by 434 items using a dichotomous scale (0 = no, 1 = yes). Factor and discriminant analyses were performed to identify a compact set of subscales that most accurately and with sufficient reliability predicted whether a child belongs to the ASD group. Results: As a result, four subscales were obtained: Sensorics, Emotions, Hyperactivity, and Communication. The high discriminability of the subscales in distinguishing the ASD group from the non-ASD group was revealed (accuracy 85.5–87.0%). Overall, the obtained subscales meet psychometric requirements and allow for creating an online screening system for wide application.

AB - Background: Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a significant socio-biological problem due to its wide prevalence and negative outcomes. In the current study, we aimed to develop an autism scale for early and accurate differentiation of 3-to 4-year-olds at risk for ASD since there is no systematic monitoring of young children in Russia yet. Methods: The total sample (N = 324) included 116 children with ASD, 131 children without ASD (healthy controls), and 77 children with developmental delay (DD). An online survey of specialists working with children was conducted based on a specially designed autism questionnaire consisting of 85 multiple-choice tasks distributed across 12 domains. Initially, each child was assessed by 434 items using a dichotomous scale (0 = no, 1 = yes). Factor and discriminant analyses were performed to identify a compact set of subscales that most accurately and with sufficient reliability predicted whether a child belongs to the ASD group. Results: As a result, four subscales were obtained: Sensorics, Emotions, Hyperactivity, and Communication. The high discriminability of the subscales in distinguishing the ASD group from the non-ASD group was revealed (accuracy 85.5–87.0%). Overall, the obtained subscales meet psychometric requirements and allow for creating an online screening system for wide application.

KW - markers of mental development; ASD; construction of scales; 3–4-year-olds

KW - markers of mental development; ASD; construction of scales; 3–4-year-olds

KW - Screening

KW - ASD

KW - 3–4-year-olds

KW - Construction of scales

KW - Markers of mental development

KW - RESPONSIVENESS

KW - construction of scales

KW - screening

KW - AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

KW - FOLLOW-UP

KW - SCREENING SCALES

KW - PREVALENCE

KW - DEVELOPMENTAL-DISORDERS

KW - PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN

KW - REPETITIVE BEHAVIORS

KW - 3-4-year-olds

KW - PREDICTIVE-VALIDITY

KW - markers of mental development

KW - YOUNG-CHILDREN

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110720534&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/e3ed5dc2-c327-326b-9b18-83bd233b8d3f/

U2 - 10.3390/math9141608

DO - 10.3390/math9141608

M3 - Article

VL - 9

JO - Mathematics

JF - Mathematics

SN - 2227-7390

IS - 14

M1 - 1608

ER -