Autistic traits in individuals with normal intellectual level and associated psychological distress : pilot study in an arabic culture

Abstract EN

Introduction : The advances in the concept of Autism are among the most significant developments in the recent history of psychiatry.

Psychiatric literature in the Arab world needs to put more emphasis and to encourage the local research in this area.

This pilot study is adopting the wider concept of the Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

Aims : This study aims to introduce a new questionnaire i.e.

The Autistic- Spectrum Quotient Questionnaire (AQ) to the psychiatric literature in the Arab World.

The (AQ) questionnaire has been translated to Arabic and used on Egyptian participants.

The questionnaire could not be formally validated as this is beyond the scope of this pilot study.

The study has also been designed to find out if highly functioning Egyptian students could have some “autistic traits” and if these traits are of any clinical significance.

Method : 202 students from different colleges at Zagazig University in Egypt have fully completed the Autistic-Spectrum Quotient Questionnaire (AQ).

The students have also completed the Arabic version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) as a measure of any associated psychological distresses.

Results : The average Autistic-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) total score is 22.72 (SD 4.44) which followed normal distribution.

The General health Questionnaire (GHQ) average total score is 34.43 (SD 13.09).

A positive correlation has been found between the AQ total scores and GHQ total scores (Pearson’s correlation one tailed test: P = 0.036).

Results suggest that autistic traits as expressed by the score of AQ do present in a differed range in Egyptian students not dissimilar from the British and the Japanese studies.

The autistic traits have been positively correlated to psychological distress as expressed by the score of GHQ.

Conclusion : The conclusion of the study suggests that the AQ is a potentially useful tool to assess autistic traits in highly functional individuals in Egyptian subjects.

Tracing such traits in such individuals can be of significant clinical importance and would be a significant addition to clinical assessment methods which would enrich our knowledge of human behavior.