Factor Analysis of the Parental Concerns Questionnaire in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background:

The Parental Concerns Questionnaire (PCQ) a 13-itme interview-based rating scale designed to assess the presence and severity of developmental and behavioral concerns expressed by parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The PCQ yields a single total score (13 to 52) that is reflective of overall symptom severity. Previous research has demonstrated the validity of PCQ in children with ASD in the United State (McGrew, et al., 2007). However, psychometrically-defined factors of the PCQ in children with ASD of non-English speaking parents have not yet been explored.

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to adopt and examine the factor structure of the PCQ in children with ASD in Saudi Arabia.

Methods:

A total of 205 parents of children with ASD and were younger than 21 (M = 7.9; 3.5 SD) years responded to an online survey. An adapted version of the PCQ was used and factor analyzed. The Maximum Likelihood extraction method was utilized as the data were relatively normally distributed (Costello & Osborne, 2005) while the scree plot with the exclusion of the inflexion point’s criterion was used to determine the number of factors (Field, 2012).

 

Results:

The 13 items scale appeared to underlie one factor with reliability above the acceptable limit (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.80).

 

Conclusions:

The Arabic version of the PCQ shows promise for assessing the overall symptom severity in children with ASD. Additional exploratory factor analyses may provide further support for the use of this measure.

Table 1. Severity of the Autistic Symptoms Factor
Item: My child…	Factor (Cronbach’s alphas = 0.80)
1- Language use and understanding (Doesn’t use words, has difficulty initiating conversations).	0.651
2- Compulsive behavior (Completes routines always in the same manner).	0.548
3- Anxiety (Shows distress from new situations or crowds).	0.527
4- Sensory issues (Reacts to lights, sounds, textures).	0.573
5- Sleep disturbance (Does not fall asleep easily, wakes often).	0.599
6- Aggression (Intentionally hits, bites others).	0.392
7- Hyperactivity (Is constantly moving, jumping, and running).	0.411
8- Attention span (Has difficulty finishing a task).	0.314
9- Mood swings (Has unpredictable changes between emotions).	0.584
10- Eating habits (Eats few foods/certain types of food).	0.400
11- Mood swings (Prefers to be alone has few friends).	0.427
12- Self-stimulatory behavior (Rocks, spins, flaps hands).	0.513
13- Self-injurious behavior (Bangs head, pinches, bites, hits oneself).	0.601