Validation of the Arabic version of the Social Communication Questionnaire.
AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2019;
23:1655-1662. [PMID:
30606031 PMCID:
PMC6728746 DOI:
10.1177/1362361318816065]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Validated screening and diagnostic tools for autism spectrum disorder for use in
Arabic-speaking individuals are scarce. This study validated the Arabic version
of the Social Communication Questionnaire. The total study sample included 206
children with autism spectrum disorder and 206 typically developing children
(73.8% male; mean age: 8.5 (standard deviation = 2.6) years). The mean Social
Communication Questionnaire total score was significantly higher in autism
spectrum disorder children than in typically developing children
(p < 0.0001). Scores on the three Social Communication
Questionnaire subscales also differed significantly between the groups
(p < 0.001). Of the 39 items, 37 were endorsed
significantly more often in the autism spectrum disorder group. The total Social
Communication Questionnaire score did not vary by age or gender. Internal
consistency was excellent (alpha = 0.92). In the receiver operating
characteristic analysis, the area under the curve for the total score showed
excellent discrimination between autism spectrum disorder and typically
developing children (area under the curve = 0.95; 95% confidence interval:
0.93–0.97). The areas under the curve for the scale subscores were 0.923 (95%
confidence interval: 0.898–0.949) for the social interaction score, 0.872 (95%
confidence interval: 0.838–0.905) for the communication score, and 0.856 (95%
confidence interval: 0.819–0.893) for the repetitive behaviors score. The
findings support the use of the Arabic Social Communication Questionnaire to
successfully differentiate children with clinically diagnosed autism spectrum
disorder using the established cutoff value for the English version.
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