The Psychometric Properties of Autism Mental Status Examination (AMSE) in Turkish Sample

Özet

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder, and early diagnosis plays a pivotal role in prognosis and management. This study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Autism Mental Status Exam (AMSE), a tool that shows great promise in terms of clinical utility, within the Turkish population. This study conducted in a cohort of 307 Turkish children aged 17 to 120 months with suspected ASD. Participants underwent a multidisciplinary assessment based on DSM-5 criteria for diagnosis and were categorized into ASD and non-ASD groups. Subsequently, the research team conducted blinded administrations of the AMSE and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Additionally, a subset of 61 children underwent retesting for AMSE and CARS after three weeks for temporal stability. The results revealed an optimal cut-off score of 4 for AMSE, yielding sensitivity and specificity rates of 84% and 97%, respectively. Internal consistency, indicated by a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.80, was very good. The test-retest reliability, assessed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), was excellent (ICC = 0.959). The inter-rater reliability also showed excellent agreement (ICC = 0.997). Furthermore, a significant correlation was observed between the AMSE and CARS scores (r = 0.94, p < 0.001). Notably, the AMSE scores were significantly different between the ASD and non-ASD groups (p < 0.001) with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.40). The findings of this study underscore the utility of AMSE as a valid and reliable tool for Turkish children with robust psychometric properties.

Açıklama

Anahtar Kelimeler

Autism mental state examination, Autism spectrum disorder, Early diagnosis, Reliability, Validity

Kaynak

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

WoS Q Değeri

Q1

Scopus Q Değeri

Q1

Cilt

Sayı

Künye

Meral, Y., Bıkmazer, A., Örengül, A. C., Çakıroğlu, S., Altınbilek, E., Bakır, F., ... & Görmez, V. (2025). The Psychometric Properties of Autism Mental State Examination (AMSE) in Turkish Sample. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1-14.