The Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire

The broad autism phenotype (BAP) is a set of personality and language characteristics that reflect the phenotypic expression of the genetic liability to autism, in non-autistic relatives of autistic individuals. These characteristics are milder but qualitatively similar to the defining features of autism. A new instrument designed to measure the BAP in adults, the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ), was administered to 86 parents of autistic individuals and 64 community control parents. Sensitivity and specificity of the BAPQ for detecting the BAP were high (>70%). Parents of children with autism had significantly higher scores on all three subscales: aloof personality, rigid personality, and pragmatic language. This instrument provides a valid and efficient measure for characterizing the BAP.

[1]  S. Folstein,et al.  Infantile autism: a genetic study of 21 twin pairs. , 1977, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[2]  C. Lajonchere,et al.  Autistic social impairment in the siblings of children with pervasive developmental disorders. , 2006, The American journal of psychiatry.

[3]  S. Folstein,et al.  Social language use in parents of autistic individuals , 1992, Psychological Medicine.

[4]  P. Tyrer,et al.  Classification of Personality Disorder , 1979, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[5]  P Bolton,et al.  A case-control family history study of autism. , 1994, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[6]  J C Perry,et al.  Problems and considerations in the valid assessment of personality disorders. , 1992, The American journal of psychiatry.

[7]  S. Folstein,et al.  Incorporating language phenotypes strengthens evidence of linkage to autism. , 2001, American journal of medical genetics.

[8]  J. Constantino,et al.  Intergenerational transmission of subthreshold autistic traits in the general population , 2005, Biological Psychiatry.

[9]  J. Hallmayer,et al.  Using self-report to identify the broad phenotype in parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders: a study using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient. , 2004, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[10]  R. Spitzer,et al.  A comparison of clinical and self-report diagnoses of DSM-III personality disorders in 552 patients. , 1989, Comprehensive psychiatry.

[11]  R. Hu.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) , 2003 .

[12]  A. Couteur,et al.  Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders , 1994, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[13]  A. Couteur,et al.  Autism diagnostic interview: A standardized investigator-based instrument , 1989, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[14]  J. Piven,et al.  Social-cognition and the broad autism phenotype: identifying genetically meaningful phenotypes. , 2007, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[15]  S. Baron-Cohen,et al.  The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism, Malesand Females, Scientists and Mathematicians , 2001, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[16]  G. Dawson,et al.  Genetic investigation of quantitative traits related to autism: use of multivariate polygenic models with ascertainment adjustment. , 2005, American journal of human genetics.

[17]  P. Bolton,et al.  Personality characteristics of the parents of autistic individuals , 1994, Psychological Medicine.

[18]  J. Piven,et al.  Personality and language characteristics in parents from multiple-incidence autism families. , 1997, American journal of medical genetics.

[19]  A. Bailey,et al.  Autism as a strongly genetic disorder: evidence from a British twin study , 1995, Psychological Medicine.

[20]  L. Kanner.  Autistic disturbances of affective contact. , 1968, Acta paedopsychiatrica.

[21]  S Arndt,et al.  Broader autism phenotype: evidence from a family history study of multiple-incidence autism families. , 1997, The American journal of psychiatry.