J Korean Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry.  2023 Jan;34(1):45-50. 10.5765/jkacap.220027.

A Validation Study of the CARS-2 Compared With the ADOS-2 in the Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Suggestion for Cutoff Scores

• Ji SI
• Park H
• Yoon SA
• Hong SB

• KMID: 2537806
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5765/jkacap.220027

Abstract

Objectives
This study examined the validity of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition (CARS-2) compared with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) in identifying autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Methods
A total of 237 children were tested using both the CARS-2 and ADOS-2. We examined the correlation using Pearson’s correlation analysis. In addition, we used a receiver operating characteristic graph to determine the optimal standard version of the CARS-2 (CARS2-ST) cutoff score for ASD diagnosis using the ADOS-2.
Results
The concurrent validity of the CARS2-ST was demonstrated by a significant correlation with the ADOS-2 (r=0.864, p<0.001). The optimal CARS2-ST cutoff scores were 30 and 28.5 for identifying autism and autism spectrum, respectively, based on the ADOS-2.
Conclusion
We suggest a newly derived CARS2-ST cutoff score of 28.5 for screening ASD and providing early intervention.

Keyword

Autism spectrum disorder; ADOS-2; CARS-2; Diagnosis; Screening