TY - JOUR
T1 - A psychometric investigation of the multiple-choice version of Animated Triangles Task to measure Theory of Mind in adolescence
AU - Andersen, Naja Kirstine
AU - Rimvall, Martin Køster
AU - Jeppesen, Pia
AU - Bentz, Mette
AU - Jepsen, Jens Richardt Møllegaard
AU - Clemmensen, Lars
AU - Jacobsen, Rikke Kart
AU - Olsen, Else Marie
PY - 2022/3
Y1 - 2022/3
N2 - The Animated Triangles Task (AT) is commonly used to measure Theory of Mind (ToM). AT can be scored by clinicians based on participants' verbal responses (AT-verbal) or using a multiple-choice paradigm (AT-MCQ). This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the less time-consuming AT-MCQ. To do this, we examined agreement and correlations between the AT-MCQ and the original AT-verbal scores in 1546 adolescents from a population-based sample. As a supplementary analysis of known-groups validity, we examined if AT-MCQ was as sensitive as AT-verbal in detecting ToM-limitations in 54 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), using register-data. The agreement between AT-verbal and AT-MCQ varied markedly across test items. Scores on the two scoring methods were weakly correlated. Both scoring methods weakly detected differences between adolescents with and without ASD in this population-based sample. Most participants had appropriate responses on both AT-MCQ and AT-verbal, which yielded overall acceptable agreement. However, the feasibility of using either scoring methods to measure ToM-limitations in adolescents from the general population is questionable.
AB - The Animated Triangles Task (AT) is commonly used to measure Theory of Mind (ToM). AT can be scored by clinicians based on participants' verbal responses (AT-verbal) or using a multiple-choice paradigm (AT-MCQ). This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the less time-consuming AT-MCQ. To do this, we examined agreement and correlations between the AT-MCQ and the original AT-verbal scores in 1546 adolescents from a population-based sample. As a supplementary analysis of known-groups validity, we examined if AT-MCQ was as sensitive as AT-verbal in detecting ToM-limitations in 54 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), using register-data. The agreement between AT-verbal and AT-MCQ varied markedly across test items. Scores on the two scoring methods were weakly correlated. Both scoring methods weakly detected differences between adolescents with and without ASD in this population-based sample. Most participants had appropriate responses on both AT-MCQ and AT-verbal, which yielded overall acceptable agreement. However, the feasibility of using either scoring methods to measure ToM-limitations in adolescents from the general population is questionable.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126110630&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0264319
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0264319
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 35271598
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 17
SP - e0264319
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
IS - 3
M1 - e0264319
ER -