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Factor Analysis of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

Exploratory factor analysis (varimax and promax rotations) of the aberrant behavior checklist-community version (ABC) in 275 individuals with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) identified four- and five-factor solutions which accounted for >70% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis (Lisrel 8.7) revealed indices of moderate fit for the five-factor solution. Our results suggest that the factor structure of the ABC is robust within an ASD sample. Both solutions yielded a three items self-injury factor. Stratifying on this factor, we identified significant differences between the high- and low-self injury groups on ABC subscales. The emergence of a self-injury factor, while not suggestive of a new subscale, warrants further exploration as a tool that could help dissect relevant neurobiobehavioral groups in ASD.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the patients with autism, and family members who agreed to participate in this study, as well as the personnel of the CHG at DUMC, for their input on this project. We also thank Drs. Robert Delong and Gordon Worley for referring patients and their families to the study. This research was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) program project grant NS26630, and grants R01 NS36768, R01 AG20135, and R01 NS42165. Finally, we acknowledge support from the National Alliance of Autism Research (NAAR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Human Genetics, Duke University Medical Center, DUMC Box 3445, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Jason Brinkley, Laura Nations, John R. Gilbert, Margaret A. O. Pericak-Vance & Michael L. Cuccaro

  2. Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Jason Brinkley

  3. Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA

    Ruth K. Abramson, Alicia Hall & Harry H. Wright

  4. The Children’s Hospital, Denver, CO, USA

    Robin Gabriels

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  1. Jason Brinkley
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  2. Laura Nations
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  3. Ruth K. Abramson
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  9. Michael L. Cuccaro
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Correspondence to Michael L. Cuccaro.

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Brinkley, J., Nations, L., Abramson, R.K. et al. Factor Analysis of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 37, 1949–1959 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0327-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0327-3

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