Autistic Traits (AUTQ)

The Autistic Traits questionnaire is an additional assessment among adult Lifelines participants.
The digital questionnaire was developed at the initiative of the Autism Research Center of Cambridge University (UK), in collaboration with the Sarr (Parnassia group) in Rotterdam (NL).
The questionnaire consists of the 10-item adult version of the Autism Spectrum Quotient ¹⁾, plus some additional questions about participants' experience with informal care in general, and informal care of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients in particular.

The Autistic Traits variables are available for use for all researchers and can be requested through the catalogue.

When the AUTQ data has been used in your research, you will have to include the following reference:

• Warrier, V., Greenberg, D.M., Weir, E. et al. Elevated rates of autism, other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, and autistic traits in transgender and gender-diverse individuals. Nat Commun 11, 3959 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17794-1

Specifically, when the AQ has been used in your research, you will have to include the following reference:

• Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S, Skinner R, Martin J, Clubley E. The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. J Autism Dev Disord. 2001 Feb;31(1):5-17. doi: 10.1023/a:1005653411471. Erratum in: J Autism Dev Disord 2001 Dec;31(6):603. PMID: 11439754.

The digital questionnaire was sent out between july and november 2019.
~110,000 adult Lifelines participants received the questionnaire, of which ~39,000 participants (35%) responded.

The questionnaire consisted mainly of the Autism Spectrum Quotient.

The following additional questions were asked about Autism Spectrum Disorder:

In addition, non-binary gender was assessed.
Furthermore, some questions were asked about informal care.

The following publications included results from AUTQ:

• Warrier, V. et al (2020). Elevated rates of autism, other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, and autistic traits in transgender and gender-diverse individuals. Nat Commun 11, 3959
• Warreman E.B. et al. (2023) Psychological, behavioural and biological factors associated with gastrointestinal symptoms in autistic adults and adults with autistic traits. Autism 27(7):2173-2186
• Warreman E.B. et al. (2023) Psychological, behavioural, and physical aspects of caregiver strain in autism-caregivers: a cohort study. EClinicalMedicine 64:102211.