Validation study reveals reliable mental health screening by the revised checklist in autistic individuals, highlighting its utility for identifying co-occurring psychiatric conditions.
Key Points
To restructure items from the Psychopathology in Autism Checklist to align with its underlying factor structure and validate the screening performance of the resulting revised checklist.
Identified subscale cut-offs and assessed psychometric properties and statistical model fit in a high-risk sample of autistic adults and older adolescents with intellectual disabilities referred for mental health assessment (n = 182).
Evaluated the statistical fit and screening utility of the subscales in a low-risk sample of autistic children and adolescents referred for autism diagnostic assessment (n = 197).
Restructured the tool into five subscales—obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychosis, anxiety, depression, and aggression/self-injurious behaviours—plus an overall index for any mental health disorder.
Maintained or improved screening performance compared to the original checklist in the high-risk cohort, with acceptable statistical model fit demonstrated across both cohorts.