AQ-Short

Validated

Autism Spectrum Quotient – Short (AQ-Short / AQ-28)

Adults (16+)Self~6 min28 questions

Below is a list of statements. Please read each statement very carefully and rate how strongly you agree or disagree with it.

Report details · optional

Patient initials / IDCompleted byDate

Shown on the report and stored with the screening record. Use initials or a code, not full names.

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About this screener — evidence, source, alternatives

An abridged version of the 50-item Autism Spectrum Quotient using 28 of its items, each scored 1–4 so that strength of agreement counts. Items group into social behaviour (social skills, routine, switching, imagination) and a fascination with numbers and patterns. It measures autistic traits and is not diagnostic.

Evidence · validated

Developed in 1,263 Dutch adults and validated in three further Dutch and UK samples including adults with Asperger syndrome/autism. Discriminating autistic adults from controls, AUC was .97; a score above 65 gave sensitivity .97 and specificity .82, and a stricter cut-off of 70 or more gave sensitivity .94 and specificity .91 (Hoekstra et al., 2011). UK means: controls 59.7 (men) and 56.0 (women); autistic adults 87.8 (men) and 91.5 (women).

Free alternative to

Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd ed. (SRS-2) Adult · WPS
Paid autistic-trait rating; the AQ-Short is a free, shorter self-report alternative.

Source & licence

Hoekstra RA, Vinkhuyzen AAE, Wheelwright S, Bartels M, Boomsma DI, Baron-Cohen S, Posthuma D, van der Sluis S. The construction and validation of an abridged version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ-Short). J Autism Dev Disord. 2011;41(5):589–596. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1073-0. Item wording from the ARC adult AQ (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001).

Licence: Open-access article (CC BY-NC); AQ items © Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge — free for research and clinical use, non-commercial, with acknowledgement

ARC terms: tests may be used free of charge for non-commercial purposes with due acknowledgement of ARC as the source, and may not be adapted or modified without ARC permission. For-profit or commercial users may need a licence (via ePROVIDE). Reproduced unmodified; rights holders can contact us to correct or remove. ARC lists this form as the AQ-28 (Adult) at https://www.autismresearchcentre.com/tests/autism-spectrum-quotient-28-items-aq-28-adult/. Items are shown in original AQ-50 order.

Official source ↗