Journal article
Psychometric properties of the Childhood Adversity and Social Stress Questionnaire, Parent Report (CASSQ-PR), a measure tailored to assess stressful experiences and traumatic stress symptoms in autistic youth
Psychological trauma, Forthcoming
15 Sep 2025
PMID: 40952668
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Sources and symptoms of traumatic stress may vary in autistic versus nonautistic youth and be challenging to assess given phenotypic overlap; nonetheless, there is a dearth of autism-tailored measures.
The Childhood Adversity and Social Stress Questionnaire-Parent Report (CASSQ-PR) was developed to assess stressful experiences (SE) and subsequent traumatic stress symptom (TSS) within the context of autism and tested in an online community sample of parents of autistic youth (
= 729; 8-17 years; 80% male; recruited February-December 2018) with communicative speech.
Per parent report, autistic youth experienced ≥ 2 SE in traditionally assessed (52.7%) and autism-nominated categories (i.e., derived from mixed method research with autistic individuals and caregivers; 58.3%); 39.5% (
= 288) of parents completed the CASSQ-TSS subscale. Bullying, stigma, sensory, change, and interaction-related stress were the most commonly endorsed SE. The CASSQ-SE subscale correlated positively with Child Behavior Checklist Total Problems, with both traditional and autism-nominated SE contributing to variance explained (supporting concurrent and incremental validity). Bivariate correlations demonstrated stronger convergence between the CASSQ-PR-TSS and parent-report Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale, than the Child Behavior Checklist externalizing subscale, supporting convergent and discriminant validity. Factor structure supported a second-order, four-factor,
fifth edition posttraumatic stress disorder model per confirmatory factor analysis; however, exploratory structural equation modeling suggested some adaptations to remove low-loading items, reduce item cross-loading, and enhance model fit.
The CASSQ-PR offers a valid estimate of SE and TSS as observed by parents in verbally communicative, school-age autistic youth; however, further research with more sociodemographically diverse and clinical samples is warranted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
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Details
- Title
- Psychometric properties of the Childhood Adversity and Social Stress Questionnaire, Parent Report (CASSQ-PR), a measure tailored to assess stressful experiences and traumatic stress symptoms in autistic youth
- Creators
- Connor M Kerns - University of British ColumbiaAnat Zaidman-Zait - Tel Aviv UniversityDiana L Robins - Drexel UniversityPaul T Shattuck - Mathematica Policy ResearchCarla A Mazefsky - University of PittsburghCraig J Newschaffer - Pennsylvania State UniversitySteven J Berkowitz - University of Colorado Denver
- Publication Details
- Psychological trauma, Forthcoming
- Publisher
- American Psychological Association
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grant note
- Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Canada Foundation for Innovation
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); A.J. Drexel Autism Institute
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001571285500001
- Other Identifier
- 991022097639704721
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- Collaboration types
- Industry collaboration
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Psychiatry
- Psychology, Clinical