Aberrant Behavior Checklist in Fragile X Syndrome
David Hessl, PhD
Principal Investigator
University of California at Davis
2010 Grant Funding: $10,000
Summary
Dr. Hessl at the University of California at Davis led a collaborative study to analyze the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) as an outcome measure for children and adults with Fragile X syndrome.
The Results
Results Published: J Autism Dev Disord. 2012 Jul;42(7):1377-92. doi: 10.1007/s10803-011-1370-2.
Psychometric study of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist in Fragile X Syndrome and implications for targeted treatment. Free full text article
The Science
The team collected archived data on this measure across 9-10 Fragile X centers (UC Davis, Stanford, Duke, U. Indiana, U. North Carolina, Johns Hopkins, U. Denver, Rush University, and U. Wisconsin). This represented close to 1000 individuals with Fragile X. They used this large dataset to analyze results of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) test.
This study was recommended by many scientists who participated in a Fragile X Outcome Measures meeting held by NICHD. The ABC is being used as an outcome measure in many ongoing and planned trials, but we really do not know how reliable, valid, and sensitive it is in Fragile X. The team investigated whether the ABC should be used as is or needs improvement and also to direct future efforts to develop a FXS-specific scale.
