The factor structure and measurement invariance of the Autism Spectrum Quotient-28: A cross-cultural comparison between Malaysia and the Netherlands.
Zhong Jian Chee, Anke M Scheeren, Marieke De Vries
PMID 36632803WHAT IT FOUND
Malaysian adults scored significantly higher on the AQ-28 than Dutch adults, even after removing culturally biased items.
While the test structure held up, 11 items functioned differently across cultures. Western cut-off scores should not be used for Malaysian patients.
Key findings
01Malaysian participants scored significantly higher on the AQ-28 than Dutch participants, with mean scores of 68.63 versus 51.48.
02The AQ-28 showed cross-cultural measurement invariance, supporting the comparison of total scores between the two groups.
03Differential item functioning analysis identified 11 items that potentially display cultural bias.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The Malaysian sample was predominantly students, not a general population sample. The study did not confirm the autism diagnosis status of the Malaysian participants, so some may have been autistic. The DIF analysis was exploratory and did not have a pre-defined cultural framework for why items functioned differently. Language proficiency may have influenced responses, as most Malaysian participants completed the test in English, their second language.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the higher AQ-28 scores in Malaysian participants as evidence of higher autistic traits in the population. The authors attribute this to cultural biases in how certain items are interpreted and reported, meaning the scores do not directly reflect clinical severity.