Publicação
The influence of autism traits, empathy and systematization on the meaning of friendship relations : contribution to the assessment of autism spectrum disorders in adults
| Resumo: | Background: Little research attention has been extended to deficits in social relationships found in persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present work addresses this gap, employing a new Portuguese version of the Friendship Quotient (FQ) together with other instruments. Method: After translation and back-translation, the FQ was, together with the Autism Quotient (AQ), the Empathy Quotient (EQ), and the Systematization Quotient (SQ) questionnaires, administered to two samples of participants. The general population sample was composed of 498 individuals, of which 13 claimed to have an ASD diagnosis and 28 believed they would merit one. The clinical sample comprised 33 individuals with a Type 1 ASD diagnosis without major linguistic or intellectual impairment, with diagnoses certified by the institutions from which they were recruited. This sample responded to the questionnaires on paper, while the general population sample responded online. Results: Factor analyses identified two possible models for the FQ, with two (Motivation for Contact and Yielding) and five factors (Flexibility, Valuation of the Other, Physical Proximity, Empathy, Friend Role). One factor was found for the AQ, three for the EQ (Social Perceptiveness, Care/Altruism, Self-Centeredness/Insensitivity) and three for the SQ (Curiosity for Origin/Creation, Curiosity for Functioning, Cognitive Difficulties/Lack of Interest). Cronbach alphas for the derived scales varied between .29 and .86. A moderate correlation was found between the FQ and the AQ. The FQ was most strongly related to the EQ, while the SQ provided the weakest correlations. Results also show that all the instruments employed can discriminate between a normal and an ASD population, the most important source of discrimination being the AQ, followed by the FQ. Conclusion: Results indicate that the FQ and other instruments employed, with the factor subscales proposed, can provide reliable and valid data in ASD populations, opening new avenues for diagnosis, clinical assessment and research. |
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| Autores principais: | Carvalho, Beatriz Isabel Nascimento de |
| Assunto: | Perturbação do espectro do autismo Amizade Avaliação psicológica Empatia Sistematização Teses de mestrado - 2020 |
| Ano: | 2020 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | Background: Little research attention has been extended to deficits in social relationships found in persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present work addresses this gap, employing a new Portuguese version of the Friendship Quotient (FQ) together with other instruments. Method: After translation and back-translation, the FQ was, together with the Autism Quotient (AQ), the Empathy Quotient (EQ), and the Systematization Quotient (SQ) questionnaires, administered to two samples of participants. The general population sample was composed of 498 individuals, of which 13 claimed to have an ASD diagnosis and 28 believed they would merit one. The clinical sample comprised 33 individuals with a Type 1 ASD diagnosis without major linguistic or intellectual impairment, with diagnoses certified by the institutions from which they were recruited. This sample responded to the questionnaires on paper, while the general population sample responded online. Results: Factor analyses identified two possible models for the FQ, with two (Motivation for Contact and Yielding) and five factors (Flexibility, Valuation of the Other, Physical Proximity, Empathy, Friend Role). One factor was found for the AQ, three for the EQ (Social Perceptiveness, Care/Altruism, Self-Centeredness/Insensitivity) and three for the SQ (Curiosity for Origin/Creation, Curiosity for Functioning, Cognitive Difficulties/Lack of Interest). Cronbach alphas for the derived scales varied between .29 and .86. A moderate correlation was found between the FQ and the AQ. The FQ was most strongly related to the EQ, while the SQ provided the weakest correlations. Results also show that all the instruments employed can discriminate between a normal and an ASD population, the most important source of discrimination being the AQ, followed by the FQ. Conclusion: Results indicate that the FQ and other instruments employed, with the factor subscales proposed, can provide reliable and valid data in ASD populations, opening new avenues for diagnosis, clinical assessment and research. |
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