Validation of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers in an Italian Clinical Sample of Young Children With Autism and Other Developmental Disorders
Background: The Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) is parent-report screening questionnaire for detecting threshold and sub-threshold autistic features in toddlers. The Q-CHAT is a dimensional measure normally distributed in the general population sample and is able to differenti...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artigo |
| Idioma: | English |
| Publicado em: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-07-01
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| Colecção: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Assuntos: | |
| Acesso em linha: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00488/full |
| _version_ | 1828409078368436224 |
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| author | Liliana Ruta Liliana Ruta Flavia Chiarotti Giuseppe Maurizio Arduino Fabio Apicella Elisa Leonardi Roberta Maggio Cristina Carrozza Natasha Chericoni Valeria Costanzo Nazarena Turco Gennaro Tartarisco Antonella Gagliano Carrie Allison Simon Baron Cohen Giovanni Pioggia Filippo Muratori Filippo Muratori |
| author_facet | Liliana Ruta Liliana Ruta Flavia Chiarotti Giuseppe Maurizio Arduino Fabio Apicella Elisa Leonardi Roberta Maggio Cristina Carrozza Natasha Chericoni Valeria Costanzo Nazarena Turco Gennaro Tartarisco Antonella Gagliano Carrie Allison Simon Baron Cohen Giovanni Pioggia Filippo Muratori Filippo Muratori |
| author_sort | Liliana Ruta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) is parent-report screening questionnaire for detecting threshold and sub-threshold autistic features in toddlers. The Q-CHAT is a dimensional measure normally distributed in the general population sample and is able to differentiate between a group of children with a diagnosis of autism and unselected toddlers.Objectives: We aim to investigate the psychometric properties, score distribution, and external validity of the Q-CHAT in an Italian clinical sample of young children with autism versus children with developmental delay and typically developing children.Method: N = 126 typically developing children (TD), n = 139 children with autism, and n = 50 children presenting developmental delay (DD) were administered the Q-CHAT. Standardized measures of cognitive functions, language, and behaviors were also obtained.Results: The Q-CHAT scores were normally distributed and demonstrated adequate internal consistency and good item to total score correlations. The mean Q-CHAT score in the autism group was significantly higher than those found in the DD sample and TD children. No difference on the mean Q-CHAT score between DD and TD children was found. The accuracy of the Q-CHAT to discriminate between autism and TD was very good. Two different cut-points (27 and 31, respectively) maximized sensitivity and specificity for autism versus TD and DD, respectively. Finally, higher Q-CHAT scores were correlated with lower language and social communication skills.Conclusions: In clinical settings, the Q-CHAT demonstrated good psychometric properties and external validity to discriminate autism children not just from children with typical development but also from children with developmental delay. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T11:50:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0c9f13590b8b4f16b8abc6bc901b18f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T11:50:26Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-0c9f13590b8b4f16b8abc6bc901b18f32022-12-22T01:49:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402019-07-011010.3389/fpsyt.2019.00488442144Validation of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers in an Italian Clinical Sample of Young Children With Autism and Other Developmental DisordersLiliana Ruta0Liliana Ruta1Flavia Chiarotti2Giuseppe Maurizio Arduino3Fabio Apicella4Elisa Leonardi5Roberta Maggio6Cristina Carrozza7Natasha Chericoni8Valeria Costanzo9Nazarena Turco10Gennaro Tartarisco11Antonella Gagliano12Carrie Allison13Simon Baron Cohen14Giovanni Pioggia15Filippo Muratori16Filippo Muratori17Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, Messina, ItalyDepartment of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, ItalyCenter for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, National Institute of Health, Rome, ItalyCentro Autismo e Sindrome di Asperger ASLCN1, Mondovì, ItalyDepartment of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, ItalyInstitute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, Messina, ItalyUniversity of Messina, Messina, ItalyInstitute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, Messina, ItalyDepartment of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, ItalyCentro Autismo e Sindrome di Asperger ASLCN1, Mondovì, ItalyInstitute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, Messina, ItalyUniversity of Messina, Messina, ItalyAutism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomAutism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomInstitute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, Messina, ItalyDepartment of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, ItalyUniversity of Pisa, Pisa, ItalyBackground: The Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) is parent-report screening questionnaire for detecting threshold and sub-threshold autistic features in toddlers. The Q-CHAT is a dimensional measure normally distributed in the general population sample and is able to differentiate between a group of children with a diagnosis of autism and unselected toddlers.Objectives: We aim to investigate the psychometric properties, score distribution, and external validity of the Q-CHAT in an Italian clinical sample of young children with autism versus children with developmental delay and typically developing children.Method: N = 126 typically developing children (TD), n = 139 children with autism, and n = 50 children presenting developmental delay (DD) were administered the Q-CHAT. Standardized measures of cognitive functions, language, and behaviors were also obtained.Results: The Q-CHAT scores were normally distributed and demonstrated adequate internal consistency and good item to total score correlations. The mean Q-CHAT score in the autism group was significantly higher than those found in the DD sample and TD children. No difference on the mean Q-CHAT score between DD and TD children was found. The accuracy of the Q-CHAT to discriminate between autism and TD was very good. Two different cut-points (27 and 31, respectively) maximized sensitivity and specificity for autism versus TD and DD, respectively. Finally, higher Q-CHAT scores were correlated with lower language and social communication skills.Conclusions: In clinical settings, the Q-CHAT demonstrated good psychometric properties and external validity to discriminate autism children not just from children with typical development but also from children with developmental delay.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00488/fullautismearly screeningtoddlersQuantitative Checklist for Autism in ToddlersAutism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) |
| spellingShingle | Liliana Ruta Liliana Ruta Flavia Chiarotti Giuseppe Maurizio Arduino Fabio Apicella Elisa Leonardi Roberta Maggio Cristina Carrozza Natasha Chericoni Valeria Costanzo Nazarena Turco Gennaro Tartarisco Antonella Gagliano Carrie Allison Simon Baron Cohen Giovanni Pioggia Filippo Muratori Filippo Muratori Validation of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers in an Italian Clinical Sample of Young Children With Autism and Other Developmental Disorders Frontiers in Psychiatry autism early screening toddlers Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) |
| title | Validation of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers in an Italian Clinical Sample of Young Children With Autism and Other Developmental Disorders |
| title_full | Validation of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers in an Italian Clinical Sample of Young Children With Autism and Other Developmental Disorders |
| title_fullStr | Validation of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers in an Italian Clinical Sample of Young Children With Autism and Other Developmental Disorders |
| title_full_unstemmed | Validation of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers in an Italian Clinical Sample of Young Children With Autism and Other Developmental Disorders |
| title_short | Validation of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers in an Italian Clinical Sample of Young Children With Autism and Other Developmental Disorders |
| title_sort | validation of the quantitative checklist for autism in toddlers in an italian clinical sample of young children with autism and other developmental disorders |
| topic | autism early screening toddlers Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00488/full |
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