Screening for Autism with the SRS and SCQ: Variations across Demographic, Developmental and Behavioral Factors in Preschool Children

Eric J. Moody, Nuri Reyes, Caroline Ledbetter, Lisa Wiggins, Carolyn DiGuiseppi, Amira Alexander, Shardel Jackson, Li Ching Lee, Susan E. Levy, Steven A. Rosenberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) and the Social Responsiveness Scales (SRS) are commonly used screeners for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data from the Study to Explore Early Development were used to examine variations in the performance of these instruments by child characteristics and family demographics. For both instruments, specificity decreased as maternal education and family income decreased. Specificity was decreased with lower developmental functioning and higher behavior problems. This suggests that the false positive rates of the SRS and the SCQ are associated with child characteristics and family demographic factors. There is a need for ASD screeners that perform well across socioeconomic and child characteristics. Clinicians should be mindful of differential performance of these instruments in various groups of children.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3550-3561
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume47
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2017

Keywords

  • Autism
  • Demographics
  • Development
  • Maternal education
  • Screener

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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