Validating the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) for adults with autism

Abstract

The Social Responsiveness Scale [SRS; Constantino & Gruber, 2005] is a widely‐used measure of autism symptoms, but its application for the study of adults with autism spectrum disorders has not been fully evaluated. Using a factor structure consistent with The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., DSM‐V) criteria for autism spectrum disorder [Frazier et al., 2014], the primary purpose of the current study was to establish the validity of the SRS with a sample of adults with autism spectrum disorder (N = 237). Correlational analyses indicated that SRS factors were highly associated with autism symptoms and behavioral measures, indicating concurrent and predictive validity. Multiple regression results demonstrated that SRS factors were differentially related to measures specific to social or behavioral domains, indicating convergent and discriminant validity. Implications for future research are discussed.