Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
Volume 34, Issue 4, Pages 270-277Publisher
HOGREFE & HUBER PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1027/1015-5759/a000340
Keywords
assessment; neurodevelopmental disorders; mental health; tests; psychometrics
Categories
Funding
- ESF COST Action Enhancing the Scientific Study of Early Autism (ESSEA) [BM1004]
- Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking from European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007 - 2013) [115300]
- EFPIA companies
- Swedish Research Council [523-2009-7054]
- FAS [259 - 2012-24]
- FORMAS [259 - 2012-24]
- VINNOVA [259 - 2012-24]
- Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation [P12-0270:1]
- Jerringfonden
- Polish National Science Centre [2012/07/B/HS6/01464]
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Europe is diverse in terms of economy, cultures, socio-demography, and languages. A crucial aspect of psychiatric research is the availability of standardized screening, diagnostic, and characterization instruments. We fine-mapped the accessibility of 14 clinical scales and cognitive tests for the assessment of early childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; e.g., ADOS, ADI-R, SCQ, SRS, CHAT, MESL) within 21 European countries. These tools are essential for internationally competitive early ASD detection research. We identified a considerable variation not only in the availability, but also psychometric standardization, and formal distribution of the instruments between the countries, privileging English speaking, high-income, and highly populated European countries. Absence of country-specific standardization was a problem across many countries, independent of income and size. Findings demonstrate, on a concrete level, the challenges in creating equal early ASD identification research opportunities in Europe, and the need for increased funding for instrument development and validation. We discuss the reasons, implications, and consequences of this inequity and ways of reducing it.
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