Examining the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Social Aptitudes Scale in two clinical samples

Sabine Kaiser; Børge Mathiassen; Bjørn Helge Handegård; Yngvild Arnesen; Marianne Berg Halvorsen

doi:10.1186/s40359-023-01258-4

Examining the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Social Aptitudes Scale in two clinical samples

BMC Psychol. 2023 Aug 3;11(1):221. doi: 10.1186/s40359-023-01258-4.

Authors

Sabine Kaiser¹, Børge Mathiassen², Bjørn Helge Handegård³, Yngvild Arnesen^{2

4}, Marianne Berg Halvorsen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Regional Center for Child and Youth Mental Health - North, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. sabine.kaiser@uit.no.
² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
³ Regional Center for Child and Youth Mental Health - North, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
⁴ Department of Psychology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
⁵ Department of Pediatric Rehabilitation, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.

Abstract

Background: Few studies have examined the psychometric properties of the Social Aptitudes Scale (SAS). The study aims of the current paper were to examine the internal consistency and the validity of the Norwegian SAS.

Methods: Parents of children from a clinical neuropediatric sample (N = 257) and from a clinical sample from child and adolescent's mental health services (N = 804) filled in the SAS.

Results: Internal consistency for the SAS were good in both samples and correlations between the SAS and different scales were in the expected directions. The results from the Confirmatory Factor Analyses indicated poor model fit.

Conclusions: Future validity studies should investigate whether SAS is suitable as a screening instrument for detecting autism spectrum disorder.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Child and adolescent’s mental health services; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Psychometric properties; Social Aptitudes Scale.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Aptitude
Autism Spectrum Disorder* / diagnosis
Autism Spectrum Disorder* / psychology
Child
Humans
Mental Health Services*
Psychometrics
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires