Development of a Social Communication Questionnaire (QSC-ID) for People With Intellectual Disability in a Deaf Sample

A Pilot and Feasibility Study

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15523901
AutoresChantal Weber (Johannes Kepler University of Linz, autor de correspondencia), Christoph Weber (0000-0002-6624-7909, Hospital of the Brothers of St. John of God), Johannes Fellinger (0000-0001-8618-1815, Hospital of the Brothers of St. John of God), Daniel Holzinger (0000-0001-6634-6117, Hospital of the Brothers of St. John of God)
Año2021
Volumen12
Páginas755993-755993
Fecha de publicación2021-12-08
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
EditorialFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2021.755993
PMID34955917
OpenAlexW4200442429
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas36

Background: Social communication (SC) includes the use and interpretation of verbal and non-verbal messages within a social context and thus requires more than knowledge of language. Social communication skills are essential for connecting and engaging with others, and SC deficits are often associated with emotional and behavioral problems. There is a lack of feasible instruments for assessing SC skills in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). Methods: A questionnaire on social communication in adults with ID (QSC-ID) comprising 20 Likert-scaled items was developed and completed on behalf of participants ( n = 52) from three Austrian therapeutic living communities for people with ID and deafness by their living- and working-facility key caregivers. The sample of adults with hearing loss was considered ideal for the development of a measure of SC that is not restricted to a specific communication mode or overly related with language skills. Results: The preliminary results showed high construct validity. Correlations were high between SC and language, social skills, and severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), moderate between SC and adaptive skills, and non-verbal intelligence and, as expected, low between SC and motor skills. Interrater reliability was found to be good or at least acceptable for all items. Total raw scores were well-distributed over the whole range-Cut-offs based on the 10th and 20th percentile are suggested to identify atypical and borderline SC skills. Caregiver feedback and completeness of data suggest that the questionnaire is highly feasible. Conclusion: Questionnaire on social communication in adults with ID is an easy-to-use caregiver-reported questionnaire for use with individuals with mild to severe forms of ID. Initial testing of validity looks promising. Further validation in populations with typical hearing is required. Due to substantial correlations between SC and structural language skills the calculation of specific SC cut-offs for different levels of linguistic skills should be considered when sufficient data is available

Autism · Autism spectrum disorder · Context (archaeology · Developmental psychology · Intellectual disability · Inter-rater reliability · Psychiatry · Rating scale · Social skills · Applied Psychology · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Clinical Psychology · Family and Disability Support Research · Language Development and Disorders · Psychology