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Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1026//0012-1924.46.3.149

Zusammenfassung. Der vorliegende Beitrag dient der Abklärung der psychometrischen und diagnostischen Eigenschaften des Fragebogens über Verhalten und soziale Kommunikation (VSK), einer deutschen Adaptation des Autism Screening Questionnaires (ASQ). Es ist ein 40 Items umfassender, aus dem Autismus Diagnostischen Interview-Revision (ADI-R) abgeleiteter Elternfragebogen zum Screening autistischer Störungen. In einer Stichprobe von 83 Individuen mit Autismus oder autistischen Zügen zeigte sich bei vorwiegend mittelschweren, gut trennscharfen Fragen (r>.40) eine interne Konsistenz von Cronbachs alpha=.85. In einer kleinen Substichprobe von 17 Personen lag die Stabilität (12-24 Monate) des Verfahrens bei rtt=.74. Die Konvergenz des VSK mit dem ADI-R erreichte r=.66. Der Summenwert des Fragebogens trennte zwischen 72 autistischen, 20 nicht-autistischen/ intellektuell beeinträchtigten (IQ<85), 26 gemischt-klinischen und 22 unauffälligen Personen auf statistisch hohem Niveau. Ein Cut-off von 17 hatte eine Spezifität von 99% bei einer Sensitivität von 92%. Der VSK erscheint demnach für die vorläufige Identifizierung von autistischen Personen und die Generierung von Verdachtsdiagnosen des Autismus in Forschung und Klinik gut geeignet.


The Questionnaire on Behaviour and Social Communication (VSK): An autism screening instrument for research and practice

Abstract. The psychometric properties of the Questionnaire on Behaviour and Social Communication (VSK), a German adaptation of the Autism Screening Questionnaire (ASQ), were investigated in this study. It is a 40-item parent-report instrument derived from the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) to screen for autism. In a sample of 83 subjects showing autism or autistic features the instrument had an internal consistency of alpha=.85, with items mostly being average in difficulty and all item-total correlations exceeding r=.40. Stability after an interval of 12-24 months in a small subsample of 17 subjects was rtt=.74. The convergence with the ADI-R reached r=.66. The total score of the questionnaire discriminated highly significantly between 72 autistic subjects, 20 nonautistic/cognitive impaired subjects (IQ<85), 26 mixed-clinical subjects and 22 normal controls. A cut-off of 17 had a specificity of 99% and a sensitivity of 92%. Data suggest that the Questionnaire on Behaviour and Social Communication is a valuable tool to generate suspicion of autism for different clinical or research purposes.

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