The Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire

Abstract

The broad autism phenotype (BAP) is a set of personality and language characteristics that reflect the phenotypic expression of the genetic liability to autism, in non-autistic relatives of autistic individuals. These characteristics are milder but qualitatively similar to the defining features of autism. A new instrument designed to measure the BAP in adults, the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ), was administered to 86 parents of autistic individuals and 64 community control parents. Sensitivity and specificity of the BAPQ for detecting the BAP were high (>70%). Parents of children with autism had significantly higher scores on all three subscales: aloof personality, rigid personality, and pragmatic language. This instrument provides a valid and efficient measure for characterizing the BAP.

Appendix A

Instructions

You are about to fill out a series of statements related to personality and lifestyle. For each question, circle that answer that best describes how often that statement applies to you. Many of these questions ask about your interactions with other people. Please think about the way you are with most people, rather than special relationships you may have with spouses or significant others, children, siblings, and parents. Everyone changes over time, which can make it hard to fill out questions about personality. Think about the way you have been the majority of your adult life, rather than the way you were as a teenager, or times you may have felt different than normal. You must answer each question, and give only one answer per question. If you are confused, please give it your best guess.

1—Very rarely	2—Rarely	3—Occasionally
4—Somewhat often	5—Often	6—Very often

Questions:

1.	I like being around other people	1 2 3 4 5 6
2.	I find it hard to get my words out smoothly	1 2 3 4 5 6
3.	I am comfortable with unexpected changes in plans	1 2 3 4 5 6
4.	It’s hard for me to avoid getting sidetracked in conversation	1 2 3 4 5 6
5.	I would rather talk to people to get information than to socialize	1 2 3 4 5 6
6.	People have to talk me into trying something new	1 2 3 4 5 6
7.	I am “in-tune” with the other person during conversation***	1 2 3 4 5 6
8.	I have to warm myself up to the idea of visiting an unfamiliar place	1 2 3 4 5 6
9.	I enjoy being in social situations	1 2 3 4 5 6
10.	My voice has a flat or monotone sound to it	1 2 3 4 5 6
11.	I feel disconnected or “out of sync” in conversations with others***	1 2 3 4 5 6
12.	People find it easy to approach me***	1 2 3 4 5 6
13.	I feel a strong need for sameness from day to day	1 2 3 4 5 6
14.	People ask me to repeat things I’ve said because they don’t understand	1 2 3 4 5 6
15.	I am flexible about how things should be done	1 2 3 4 5 6
16.	I look forward to situations where I can meet new people	1 2 3 4 5 6
17.	I have been told that I talk too much about certain topics	1 2 3 4 5 6
18.	When I make conversation it is just to be polite***	1 2 3 4 5 6
19.	I look forward to trying new things	1 2 3 4 5 6
20.	I speak too loudly or softly	1 2 3 4 5 6
21.	I can tell when someone is not interested in what I am saying***	1 2 3 4 5 6
22.	I have a hard time dealing with changes in my routine	1 2 3 4 5 6
23.	I am good at making small talk***	1 2 3 4 5 6
24.	I act very set in my ways	1 2 3 4 5 6
25.	I feel like I am really connecting with other people	1 2 3 4 5 6
26.	People get frustrated by my unwillingness to bend	1 2 3 4 5 6
27.	Conversation bores me***	1 2 3 4 5 6
28.	I am warm and friendly in my interactions with others***	1 2 3 4 5 6
29.	I leave long pauses in conversation	1 2 3 4 5 6
30.	I alter my daily routine by trying something different	1 2 3 4 5 6
31.	I prefer to be alone rather than with others	1 2 3 4 5 6
32.	I lose track of my original point when talking to people	1 2 3 4 5 6
33.	I like to closely follow a routine while working	1 2 3 4 5 6
34.	I can tell when it is time to change topics in conversation ***	1 2 3 4 5 6
35.	I keep doing things the way I know, even if another way might be better	1 2 3 4 5 6
36.	I enjoy chatting with people ***	1 2 3 4 5 6

1. ***Casual interaction with acquaintances, rather than special relationships such as with close friends and family members.

Scoring Instructions

Reverse scored items (1 becomes 6, 5 becomes 2, etc.): 1, 3, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30, 34, 36.

Items by Subscale:

Aloof (1, 5, 9, 12, 16, 18, 23, 25, 27, 28, 31, 36)

Pragmatic Language (2, 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 20, 21, 29, 32, 34)

Rigid (3, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 22, 24, 26, 30, 33, 35)