Two validation studies of a performance validity test for autistic adults

Abstract

In two studies we examined the potential of a simple emotion recognition task, the Morel Emotional Numbing Test (MENT), as a performance validity test (PVT) when assessing autism in adulthood. The aim of a PVT is to indicate underperformance and to increase diagnostic accuracy. There are currently no validated PVT’s for autism in adulthood. In Study 1, non-autistic university students (aged 18-46 years) were instructed to simulate that they were autistic during a neuropsychological assessment (simulation condition; n=26). These students made more errors on the MENT than those instructed to do their best (control condition; n=26). In Study 2, we tested how well autistic adults performed on the MENT. We found that clinically diagnosed autistic adults and non-autistic adults (both n=25; 27-57 years; IQ>80) performed equally well on the MENT. Moreover, autistic adults made significantly fewer errors than the instructed simulators in Study 1. With a cutoff score of seven errors, the MENT reached a specificity of ≥98% and a sensitivity of 96%. Together these findings provide the first empirical evidence for the validity of the MENT as a potential PVT for autism. Further research is required to examine the validity of the MENT as a PVT for autism in a clinical and forensic context.