An evaluation of the German version of the Sensory Perception Quotient from an expert by experience perspective

Afton M Bierlich; Carola Bloch; Timo Spyra; Christian Lanz; Christine M Falter-Wagner; Kai Vogeley

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1252277

An evaluation of the German version of the Sensory Perception Quotient from an expert by experience perspective

Front Psychol. 2024 Feb 29:15:1252277. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1252277. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Afton M Bierlich^#¹, Carola Bloch^#^{1

2}, Timo Spyra², Christian Lanz¹, Christine M Falter-Wagner^#¹, Kai Vogeley^#^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital Munich, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
² Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
³ Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Sensory processing is often altered in individuals with autism; thus, it is essential to develop reliable measurement tools to assess sensory perception. The Sensory Perception Quotient (SPQ) quantifies basic sensory sensitivities in adults via self-report. Adopting an expert by experience perspective, this study aimed to evaluate a German translation of the SPQ for its use in clinical and research applications, especially for autistic adults. 108 adults (n = 54 autistic) completed the German SPQ in an online assessment. A 92-item and a 35-item version of the German SPQ were analyzed for group differences and internal consistency. Our results show that adults with autism reported greater sensory sensitivity compared to non-autistic adults. Results further suggest good to excellent internal consistency for the 95-item and 35-item SPQ translations. This finding was supported by the correlative relationship between sensory sensitivity and autistic traits. These findings confirm the reliability of our SPQ translation, making it a suitable German assessment tool for basic sensory sensitivity in autistic adults.

Keywords: autism; participatory research; sensory perception quotient; sensory sensitivity; translation.

Grants and funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: AB, CB, and CF-W were supported by the German Research Foundation [DFG; grant number 876/3-1, FA 876/5-1]. KV was supported by the EC, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, FET Proactive [Project VIRTUALTIMES; Grant agreement ID: 824128], by the German Research Foundation [CRC1252 Prominence in Language], by the German Ministry of Research and Education [Project SIMSUB, grant ID 01GP2215].