Validation of an interview-based rating scale developed in Japan for pervasive developmental disorders

The pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) Autism Society Japan Rating Scale (PARS), an interview-based instrument for evaluating PDDs, has been developed in Japan with the aim of providing a method that (1) can be used to evaluate PDD symptoms and related support needs and (2) is simpler and easier than the currently used “gold standard” instruments such as the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). We examined the reliability and validity of PARS on the basis of data from 572 participants (277 PDD patients and 295 nonclinical controls). Inter-rater reliability was sufficient at both the item and scale level. Factor analysis extracted four subscales, for which internal consistency was found to be high. The sub and total scores of PARS showed correlations with the domain and total scores of ADI-R, in line with theoretical prediction, indicating the convergent validity of PARS. A receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that PARS has good discriminative validity in differentiating between PDD patients and nonclinical controls, regardless of intellectual capacity. Considering that PARS can be easily implemented by professionals with appropriate knowledge regarding PDDs, PARS may be superior to the existing instruments in terms of cost performance.

► PARS, a simple interview-based evaluation instrument for PDD, was validated.
► Inter-interviewer reliability of PARS was sufficient at both the item and scale level.
► Factor analysis extracted four subscales for which internal consistency was high.
► PARS subscores showed correlations with ADI-R domain scores in line with prediction.
► PARS discriminates PDD patients from normal controls as well as the ADI-R.