Scientific article
English

The utility of the autism-spectrum quotient to screen for autism spectrum disorder in adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Published inPsychiatry research, vol. 312, 114580
Publication date2022-06
First online date2022-04-28
Abstract

The co-occurrence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been reported to be highly prevalent in adults. However, very few studies have assessed the usefulness of screening instruments to detect this co-occurrence, particularly when screening for ASD in the context of ADHD. Our study aimed at assessing the utility of the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) as a screening tool of ASD in a sample of 153 adults referred for ADHD assessment. Our results showed that the AQ is of limited use in this context as its positive predictive value was low (47%). Particularly, the more severe the attentional deficits the more likely individuals with ADHD were to be misclassified as having a co-occurring ASD based on the AQ. However, the "imagination" subscale of the AQ was able to discriminate those who met ASD criteria from those who did not, suggesting that targeting imagination impairments might be useful when assessing for the ADHD+ASD co-occurrence in clinical settings.

Keywords
  • Adults
  • Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Autism-spectrum quotient
  • Co-occurrence
  • Adult
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / diagnosis
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder / complications
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder / diagnosis
  • Autistic Disorder
  • Humans
Citation (ISO format)
BEMMOUNA, Doha et al. The utility of the autism-spectrum quotient to screen for autism spectrum disorder in adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In: Psychiatry research, 2022, vol. 312, p. 114580. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114580
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Article (Published version)
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Identifiers
Journal ISSN0165-1781
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Creation14/09/2022 13:06:00
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Update time16/03/2023 11:49:56
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