Teruya Minami, Kurihara Kazuhiro, Ishibashi Takao, Ota Kazuki, Shinzato Hotaka, Takaesu Yoshikazu, Kondo Tsuyoshi
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine University of the Ryukyus Okinawa Japan.
PCN Rep. 2025 Mar 17;4(1):e70084. doi: 10.1002/pcn5.70084. eCollection 2025 Mar.
Young patients with social communication difficulties are often diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), social communication disorder (SCD), or social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study aimed to develop a questionnaire, especially focusing on the prescreening of SAD complicated by ASD/SCD.
The 12-item self-report Questionnaire for Difficulty in Social Communication (DISC-12) was developed and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis in 94 patients with ASD/SCD (35 with SAD, 59 without). An additional 17 patients with only SAD were included. Convergent validity was assessed via correlations with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). DISC-12 scores and demographics were compared across ASD/SCD, ASD/SCD + SAD, and SAD groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of DISC-12 subscales distinguished autistic traits from social anxiety.
Factor analysis revealed a three-factor model for the DISC-12, comprising nonassertiveness, poor empathy, and interpersonal hypersensitivity. DISC-12 showed significant correlations with the AQ ( = 0.412, < 0.001) and LSAS ( = 0.429, < 0.001). Patients with ASD/SCD had higher Poor Empathy scores, while SAD patients had higher Interpersonal Hypersensitivity scores than the other groups. ROC analysis indicated that Poor Empathy and Interpersonal Hypersensitivity subscale scores effectively differentiated ASD/SCD from patients with SAD and vice versa.
DISC-12 is a rapid and effective prescreening tool for identifying both ASD and social anxiety, particularly in young patients with self-reported difficulties in social communication.
有社交沟通困难的年轻患者常被诊断为自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）、社交沟通障碍（SCD）或社交焦虑障碍（SAD）。本研究旨在开发一份问卷，特别关注并发ASD/SCD的SAD的预筛查。
编制了12项社交沟通困难自评问卷（DISC - 12），并在94例ASD/SCD患者（35例伴有SAD，59例不伴有SAD）中进行探索性因素分析。另外纳入了17例仅患有SAD的患者。通过与自闭症谱系商数（AQ）和利博维茨社交焦虑量表（LSAS）的相关性评估聚合效度。比较了ASD/SCD、ASD/SCD + SAD和SAD组的DISC - 12得分及人口统计学特征。对DISC - 12分量表进行受试者操作特征（ROC）分析，以区分自闭症特质与社交焦虑。
因素分析揭示了DISC - 12的三因素模型，包括非 assertiveness、同理心差和人际超敏反应。DISC - 12与AQ（r = 0.412，p < 0.001）和LSAS（r = 0.429，p < 0.001）显著相关。ASD/SCD患者的同理心差得分较高，而SAD患者的人际超敏反应得分高于其他组。ROC分析表明，同理心差和人际超敏反应分量表得分能有效区分ASD/SCD患者与SAD患者，反之亦然。
DISC - 12是一种快速有效的预筛查工具，可用于识别ASD和社交焦虑，特别是在自我报告有社交沟通困难的年轻患者中。
