Validation of the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) in a Hispanic Sample: Understanding the Impact of Expressed Emotion

by Gonzalez, Vanessa

The SCQ is a popular screener for ASDs derived from the gold-standard diagnostic interview. This study examined the validity of the SCQ in a Hispanic sample. Additionally, the mothers expressed emotion toward her child with ASD was examined. Participants included 217 Hispanic and non-Hispanic white mothers of children with and without ASDs ages 4-10. The actual diagnostic status of all children was determined using a historical review of records. ROC curve analysis yielded much lower sensitivity and specificity than the original validation study, with very little difference found between the 15 and 22 cutoffs. A cutoff score of 12 performed the best with a sensitivity of .86 and specificity of .54 in distinguishing between ASD and Non-ASD. There were no significant findings in expressed emotion between Hispanics or Whites, nor did it predict SCQ score. Limitations included a small non-Hispanic White sample. Findings of this study corroborate recent validation results.