Revision of the Theory of Mind Tests for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder / 中国心理卫生杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To amendment a tool of theory of mind (TOM) tests that can be applied to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainland China,and assess the ability of ToM of children with ASD.Methods:The items of the ToM tests were revised by observing and recording events of children's life.Totally 200 normal children were selected in line with the standard from kindergarten to Grade 6 for formal tes-ting.With 156 valid data,Pearson correlation coefficient and Cronbach α coefficient were established for the test.Three experts were invited to make sure the content validity.Researchers randomly selected 30 normal children for retest purpose after 2 months.Twenty five children with ASD were tested and compared with normal children's test scores.Results:The revised test included 39 entries,which was divided into three sub-tests,42 points in total.The correlation coefficient of three subtests of the tests was 0.54-0.77,the correlation coefficient between the test and the subtest was 0.62-0.93 (Ps ＜ 0.01).The scores of three experts for the test were 114,108,and 105.The total scores and subtest scores were lower in children with ASD than in normal children (Ps ＜0.01).The Cronbach a coefficient of the test was 0.84,Cronbach a coefficients for three subtest were 0.83,0.80,and 0.78,respectively.The retest reliability was 0.84,and reliabilities for three subtest were 0.75,0.74,and 1.00.Conclusion:The revised Theory of Mind Tests for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are fulfilled mostly in line with psychometric testing requirement.It might be a selection to measure the ability of theory of mind of children with ASD in mainland China.