目標：本研究測試「自閉症光譜量表」(Autism-spectrum Quotient，簡稱AQ)篩檢出具有類
似自閉症特質的父母之預測效度，以及性別之得分差異，同時也比較自閉症者、自閉症者的父母與一般父母之AQ得分差異情形，研究結果希冀對具有類似自閉症特質的父母提供一項快速篩檢的工具。方法：研究對象包括33對自閉症者之父母和38對一般父母，以郵寄問卷和自我評量的方式填寫成人版的AQ量表。自閉症者的資料是引用自另一研究。結果：自閉症組AQ各五個分量表的得分和總分皆是3組中最高的，表現出自閉症連續性的特質。量表中的社交和溝通二個分量表最有效區分自閉症者父母和一般父母，自閉症者父母組中的男性在社交和溝通二個分量表的得分顯著高於自閉症者父母組中的女性以及一般父母組中的男性與女性。結論：社交和溝通是AQ中最具區辨力的二個分量表，若社交和溝通二個分量表的得分總和高於9者，並且在生活適應上出現困難，則增加趨近於廣泛自閉症表現型(broad autism phenotype)高危險群的可能性，建議尋求更進一步的諮商協助。

Objectives: The term “broad autism phenotype” is used to refer to the non-autistic relatives of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who manifest mild forms of autistic-like characteristics. The study investigated the autistic-like characteristics and gender differences of
the parents of people with ASD by using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The study also compared the AQ scores of people with ASD, parents of people with ASD, and parents of normal controls. Methods: AQ was administered to the two groups of participants by mail. One group
consisted of 33 pairs of parents of people with ASD, while the other included 38 pairs of parents of controls. The data for people with ASD was retrieved from another study. Results: (1) Among the three groups, people with ASD scored the highest on AQ, while parents of normal controls
scored the lowest. (2) The parents of people with ASD scored significantly higher on the social and communication subscales than did parents of controls. (3) Males in the group of parents of people with ASD scored significantly higher on the social and communication subscales than
did females in the same group. Conclusions: The results supported the concept of an autistic continuum. The social and communication subscales can significantly discriminate the parents of people with ASD from the parents of controls. If the score obtained is more than 9 in the two
subscales and social difficulties also occur, then further counseling is recommended.