Validating the German Version of Revised Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory

Background: The current project evaluates the psychometric properties of a German version of the Revised Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory (CATI-R). Previous measures of autistic traits are often based on a male-referenced conceptualisation of autism, which may underestimate autistic traits in other genders. Additionally, these measures tend to rely on neurotypical language, which can make it difficult for autistic people to respond and may reinforce stigma. To address these shortcomings, we collaborated with members of the autism community to revise the Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory—a measure particularly sensitive to traits often expressed by autistic women—using more inclusive, respectful, and accessible language and concepts. Here, we present the psychometric evaluation of a German version of this inventory. Methods: To validate a German version of the CATI-R, we collected data from a large sample (n = 1057), comprising German-native speakers with a self-reported autism diagnosis (n = 29), people who self-identified as autistic (n = 113), and non-autistic participants (n = 944). Results: We successfully validated a German version of the CATI-R. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the six-subscale structure (Two-Factor Bifactors Model: Chi-squared = 2402.85, p < .001, RMSEA = .045, SRMR = .043, CFI = .91, TLI = .90). With Spearman’s rank correlations, we showed positive relationships between all subscales (all rs > .37, ps <.001). Moreover, we demonstrated convergent validity with significant correlations between the CATI-R and the German versions of two contemporary measures of autistic traits: the AQ (rho = .70, p < .01) and BAPQ (rho = .78, p < .01). Finally, a measurement invariance analysis indicated that total-scale scores can be compared across genders. Limitations: While our study enriches the evidence for the validity of the CATI-R, future work should provide further analyses and types of data, including a larger number of participants who do not identify as male or female as well as a larger number of participants with an autism diagnosis (and/or a sample with a verified diagnosis). Conclusions: This study replicates findings for the English CATI-R. To our knowledge, this is the first validation of a measure of autistic traits in German that has been developed together with people from the community.