The Autism-Spectrum Quotient and its relationships with Emotional Intelligence and the Broader Autism Phenotype Questionnaire

Background: The Broader Phenotype of ASD is coming under increasing scrutiny. Relatives of individuals on the autism spectrum show milder traits, which are qualitatively similar to the features of disorder. Two self-report measures assess the broader phenotype, where individuals of normal intelligence can be assessed for autistic traits; the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001); and the Broader Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ; Hurley et al., 2006).

Objectives:

Although studies have assessed, for instance, the utility of the AQ as a screening tool (Woodbury-Smith et al. 2005; Kurita et al. 2005) and its ability to predict performance on social cognition tests (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001; Bayliss & Tipper, 2005), there is still relatively little known about how scores on the AQ relate to other measures. This study aims to test the relationships of the AQ with the BAPQ and Emotional Intelligence (Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test; SUEIT, Palmer & Stough, 2001).

Methods:

Participants were recruited from universities in Edinburgh. Participants completed the AQ and either; the SUEIT (n=536; 303 males and 230 females); or the BAPQ (n=184; 67 males and 117 females).

Results:

Total AQ and SUEIT scores were negatively correlated. In general AQ and SUEIT subcomponents were also negatively correlated. AQ and BAPQ total scores were highly correlated and there were large positive correlations amongst most subcomponents. In both cases Attention to Detail subscale was, however, uncorrelated with any SUEIT or BAPQ component.

Conclusions:

Recent studies have shown a 3 factor structure for the AQ of social skills, details/patterns and communication/mind reading (Austin, 2005; Hurst, Mitchell, Kimbrel, Kwapil, & Nelson-Gray, 2007). This study finds that the Attention to Detail subscale is unrelated to emotional processing and to the BAPQ. The exact nature of the broader autism phenotype and which measure most accurately assesses it requires further study.