Citation/Abstract

To date, the Stress Survey Schedule (SSS) is the only survey that comprises items that are highly relevant to problems often experienced by people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Information regarding the validity of this instrument, however, is limited. The current study collected information from parents and teachers of children between the ages of 3-18 with a primary diagnosis of ASD from multiple sites using the SSS. Convergent and divergent validity estimates were examined using Pearson product-moment correlations coefficients framed in a multi-trait--multi-method matrix. In addition, reference samples were developed for teacher and parent ratings, providing means and standard deviations for future comparison. Results showed poor agreement between parent and teacher ratings across SSS dimensions and total SSS scores. These low correlation coefficients in conjunction with high homo-method hetero-trait and hetero-trait hetero-method correlation coefficients suggest poor construct validity for the Stress Survey Schedule.