Early Screening of the Autism Spectrum Disorders: Validity Properties and Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the First Year Inventory in Italy

Annalisa Levante; Serena Petrocchi; Angelo Massagli; Maria Rosaria Filograna; Serafino De Giorgi; Flavia Lecciso

doi:10.3390/brainsci10020108

Early Screening of the Autism Spectrum Disorders: Validity Properties and Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the First Year Inventory in Italy

Brain Sci. 2020 Feb 18;10(2):108. doi: 10.3390/brainsci10020108.

Authors

Annalisa Levante^{1

2}, Serena Petrocchi^{2

3

4}, Angelo Massagli⁵, Maria Rosaria Filograna⁶, Serafino De Giorgi⁷, Flavia Lecciso^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of History, Society and Human Studies, Department of History, Society and Human Studies, University of Salento,Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
² Lab of Applied Psychology and Intervention, Department of History, Society and Human Studies, University of Salento,Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
³ Institute of Communication and Health, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Via Buffi 13, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland.
⁴ Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, IRCCS European Institute of Oncology, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milano, Italy.
⁵ Child and Adolescents Neuropsychiatry Unit, Local Health Service, Via Miglietta, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
⁶ Federation of Italian Medical Pediatricians, Via Miglietta, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
⁷ Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Via Miglietta, 73100 Lecce, Italy.

Abstract

This study examined the cross-cultural generalisability of the First Year Inventory (FYI) on an Italian sample, testing its construct validity, consistency, and structural validity. Six hundred ninety-eight parents of children aged 11-13 months completed the questionnaire. Similarities between analyses of Italian and American/Israeli samples were found, as were demonstrations of the instrument's construct validity and internal consistency with both groups. The original factorial structure was not demonstrated; thus, a new factorial structure was tested, and a short version of the FYI was demonstrated via confirmatory factor analysis. The findings supported the generalisability of the Italian version of the FYI and its validity. The FYI may aid in medical decision-making on further steps for referral of the child to an early diagnostic assessment.

Keywords: First Year Inventory; autism spectrum disorders; cross-cultural generalisability; early screening; risk; validity.