The Subthreshold Autism Trait Questionnaire (SATQ): development of a brief self-report measure of subthreshold autism traits.

Overview

The current study was motivated by a need for a self-report questionnaire that assesses a broad range of subthreshold autism traits, is brief and easily administered, and is relevant to the general population. An initial item pool was administered to 1,709 students. Structural validity analysis resulted in a 24-item questionnaire termed the Subthreshold Autism Trait Questionnaire (SATQ; Cronbach's alpha coefficient = .73, test-retest reliability = .79). An exploratory factor analysis suggested 5 factors. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the 5 factor solution was an adequate fit and outperformed two other models. The SATQ successfully differentiated between an ASD and student group and demonstrated convergent validity with other ASD measures. Thus, the current study introduces and provides initial psychometric support for the SATQ.