Performance of the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 for the Assessment of Autistic Behaviors in a Sample of Canadian Preschool-Aged Children.

Adele Carty, Rivka Green, Carly V. Goodman, John R. McLaughlin, Howard Hu, Bruce Lanphear, Gina Muckle, Christine Till. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 2024 Aug 5. doi: 10.1007/s10803-024-06487-z

Question: How do scores on the Social Responsiveness Scale-Second Edition (SRS-2) Preschool Form for the US standardization sample (n = 247) compare with a Canadian cohort of preschool-aged children (n = 595) recruited from the MIREC Study?

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions usually characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. This condition often shows up in early childhood. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2) was developed as a screening tool to identify the presence and severity of autistic social impairment. A higher score on the SRS-2 implies more severe autistic-like behaviors.

What did the researchers do:
Researchers from York University examined whether ASD-like characteristics were correlated with maternal/child characteristics (e.g., maternal education, race, child sex) and child intellectual abilities. In addition, they assessed how maternal ratings of social skills assessed by the SRS-2 are associated with maternal ratings of general problem behaviors.

What did they find:
The average total SRS-2 raw score was significantly lower in the MIREC sample (mean = 29.7, SD = 15.8) compared to the US standardization sample (mean = 41.9, SD = 26.0). Boys had a higher total raw score (mean = 33.0, SD = 17.1) than girls (mean = 26.6, SD = 13.9) in the MIREC sample, but no sex difference was found in the US standardization sample. A significantly larger proportion of the MIREC sample was white, younger in age, and had more educated parents compared to the US standardization sample. ASD-like behaviors were correlated with lower intellectual abilities, a less enriched home environment, more behavioral problems, and poorer adaptive skills (the practical skills that people need to function in their daily lives).

What does this mean:
SRS-2 Preschool Form scores were significantly lower in the Canadian sample compared to the US standardization sample, indicating fewer symptoms of autistic-like behavior among the MIREC children. This may be because there are differences between the two groups such as maternal education and race. Also, the study results suggest that girls may be under-identified when SRS-2 Preschool Form norms are used for screening ASD.

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