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Computer-Based Testing to Shorten the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ): a Proof- of-Principle Study of the Lifetime and Current Forms

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Abstract

The Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) is a 40-item instrument designed to screen children at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Both Lifetime and Current forms of the scale are available. Although these forms are manageable for many respondents, their use may result in substantial respondent and administrative burden, particularly among individuals who have difficulty reading, have physical illness, and/or are asked to take multiple questionnaires. The objective of this research was to examine the potential of two stopping rules for computer-based testing (namely, curtailment and stochastic curtailment) to shorten the SCQ without compromising its screening properties. A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from the National Database for Autism Research (NDAR); responses regarding 1236 at-risk individuals from the SCQ Lifetime and 709 at-risk individuals from the SCQ Current were analyzed. In post-hoc simulation, curtailment reduced mean test lengths by 29% to 44% compared to the full-length Lifetime form, and by 25% to 39% compared to the full-length Current form, while providing the same screening result as the corresponding full-length form in 100% of cases. Stochastic curtailment made further reductions in test length, but was not always concordant with the full-length form’s screening result. These findings suggest that curtailment has potential to improve the efficiency of the SCQ in computer-based administrations and should be tested prospectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health and Community Service, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, 1 Kneeland St., Room 745, Boston, MA, 02111, USA

    Matthew D. Finkelman

  2. Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Foundations, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA

    Tianlan Wei

  3. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA

    Sarah R. Lowe

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  2. Tianlan Wei
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  3. Sarah R. Lowe
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MDF made a significant contribution to the study conception and design, data analysis, interpretation of results, and drafting/revising of the manuscript for important intellectual content. He approved the final version to be published. TW made a significant contribution to the study conception and design, data analysis, interpretation of results, and drafting/revising of the manuscript for important intellectual content. She approved the final version to be published. SL made a significant contribution to the study conception and design, interpretation of results, and drafting/revising of the manuscript for important intellectual content. She approved the final version to be published.

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Correspondence to Matthew D. Finkelman.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals

This retrospective study used data that had been retrieved from the National Database for Autism Research (NDAR) for an earlier study. At the time that the earlier study was conducted, it was not considered human subjects research by the affiliated Institutional Review Board. The current study was also determined to qualify as not human subjects research by the Tufts Health Sciences Institutional Review Board. The research did not involve animals.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics Approval

The current study was determined to qualify as not human subjects research by the Tufts Health Sciences Institutional Review Board. It used data from a previous study that was also not considered human subjects research by the affiliated Institutional Review Board.

Data and/or Code Availability

Data used in the preparation of this manuscript were obtained from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Data Archive (NDA). NDA is a collaborative informatics system created by the National Institutes of Health to provide a national resource to support and accelerate research in mental health. The unique ID for the current study is Study 883, https://doi.org/10.15154/1518664. The study included the following collection names (along with submitters): Autism Risk, Prenatal Environmental Exposures, and Pathophysiologic Markers (Irva Hertz-Picciotto); Biological and Information Processing Mechanisms Underlying Autism (Nancy Minshew); CBT for Anxiety in Adolescents with Autism (Eric A. Storch); Computer Adaptive Testing of Adaptive Behavior of Children and Youth with Autism (Wendy Coster); Decoding 'what' and 'who' in the auditory system of children with autism spectrum disorder (Vinod Menon); Dissecting Epistasis and Pleiotropy in Autism towards Personalized Medicine (Lauren Weiss); Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (Craig Newschaffer); Electrophysiologic Studies of Language Impairment in ASD (Timothy Roberts); Functional Neuroimaging of Attention in Autism (Benjamin Yerys); Identifying Brain-Based Biomarkers for ASD and their Biological Subtypes (Bradley Peterson); Longitudinal MRI Study of Infants at Risk for Autism (Bradley Peterson); Longitudinal MRI Study of Infants at Risk for Autism (Joseph Piven); Restricted Interests and Repetitive Behaviors in Autism (Gabriel Dichter); Neural Dissection of Hyperactivity/Inattention in Autism (Francisco Xavier Castellanos); PDN Screening J Psychopathol Behav Assess Data (Audrey Thurm); Sex specific dissection of autism genetics (Lauren Weiss); Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment (STAART) (Joseph Buxbaum); UIC ACE: Translational Studies of Insistence on Sameness in Autism (Stephen Guter). This manuscript reflects the views of the authors and may not reflect the opinions or views of the NIH or of the Submitters submitting original data to NDA.  Computer code is not publicly available.

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Finkelman, M.D., Wei, T. & Lowe, S.R. Computer-Based Testing to Shorten the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ): a Proof- of-Principle Study of the Lifetime and Current Forms. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 43, 427–440 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-020-09853-0

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