The Autism - Tics, AD/HD and other Comorbidities inventory (A-TAC): further validation of a telephone interview for epidemiological research

Abstract

BackgroundReliable, valid, and easy-to-administer instruments to identify possible caseness and to provide proxies for clinical diagnoses are needed in epidemiological research on child and adolescent mental health.The aim of this study is to provide further validity data for a parent telephone interview focused on Autism - Tics, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and other Comorbidities (A-TAC), for which reliability and preliminary validation data have been previously reported.MethodsParents of 91 children clinically diagnosed at a specialized Child Neuropsychiatric Clinic, 366 control children and 319 children for whom clinical diagnoses had been previously assigned were interviewed by the A-TAC over the phone. Interviewers were blind to clinical information. Different scores from the A-TAC were compared to the diagnostic outcome.ResultsAreas under ROC curves for interview scores as predictors of clinical diagnoses were around 0.95 for most disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), tic disorders, developmental coordination disorders (DCD) and learning disorders, indicating excellent screening properties. Screening cut-off scores with sensitivities above 0.90 (0.95 for ASD and AD/HD) were established for most conditions, as well as cut-off scores to identify proxies to clinical diagnoses with specificities above 0.90 (0.95 for ASD and AD/HD).ConclusionsThe previously reported validity of the A-TAC was supported by this larger replication study using broader scales from the A-TAC-items and a larger number of diagnostic categories. Short versions of algorithms worked as well as larger. Different cut-off levels for screening versus identifying proxies for clinical diagnoses are warranted. Data on the validity for mood problems and oppositional defiant/conduct problems are still lacking. Although the A-TAC is principally intended for epidemiological research and general investigations, the instrument may be useful as a tool to collect information in clinical practice as well.

Subthreshold and threshold attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in childhood: psychosocial outcomes in adolescence in boys and girls

“…In previous validation studies, A‐TAC has shown good test–retest measures, excellent inter‐rater reliability, and construct validity 48, 49, 50, as well as convergent validity with the Child Behaviour Check List 51. ADHD traits were calculated as the sum of scores of both the inattention and hyperactivity–impulsivity scales, yielding between 0 and 19 points.…”

“…ADHD symptoms were divided into three levels of severity: screen‐negative (<6 points), screen‐intermediate (6–7.5 points), and screen‐positive (8 points or more). These cutoffs were based on an earlier validation analysis 49. Response categories were then categorized as 0 (screen‐negative), 1 (screen‐intermediate), and 2 (screen‐positive).…”

Associations between oxytocin-related genes and autistic-like traits

“…The A-TAC is a tool for screening general populations for child ASD and related conditions, and can also be used as a dimensional measure of ALTs, reflecting the continuous character of the autism spectrum. It has a high sensitivity and specificity (0.96 and 0.88, respectively) for predicting a clinical diagnosis of ASD (Hansson et al, 2005;Larson et al, 2010). The 17 questions on ALTs, 12 of which specifically address the DSM-IV criteria for autistic disorder, reflect the three core symptom dimensions of autism, represented as modules: language impairment (six questions), social interaction impairment (six questions) and restrictive/repetitive behavior (five questions).…”

“…The parents of all twins were contacted when their twins turned 9 or 12 years old, and asked to participate in a telephone interview containing, among other instruments, the Autism-Tics, ADHD and other Co-morbidities inventory (A-TAC) (Hansson et al, 2005;Larson et al, 2010). The A-TAC is a tool for screening general populations for child ASD and related conditions, and can also be used as a dimensional measure of ALTs, reflecting the continuous character of the autism spectrum.…”

Academic textbooks on ADHD genetics: balanced or biased?

“…To end on a positive note: although much can be said about the industry-sponsored follow-up on the consensus statement (Kooij et al, 2010), it does mention both effect sizes from quantitative as well as molecular studies, albeit without highlighting the contrasting findings. And in our data-sample, roughly a quarter of the ADHD sections were classified as “elaborate”, explicating and often contrasting effect sizes of both quantitative and molecular studies.…”