Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Chinese Behavioral Inflexibility Scale: Clinical Interview Version for Children Aged 3-8 Years With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainland China.

PURPOSE: This study seeks to sinicise the English version of the BIS-CI and to evaluate its reliability and validity. The aim is to provide clinicians and therapists with assessment tools and intervention guidance for addressing behavioral inflexibility in children with ASD in China, while also establishing a theoretical foundation for the implementation of effective intervention strategies in clinical practice.

METHODS: A total of 465 children aged between 3 and 8 years were recruited, comprising 158 with ASD and 307 typically developing (TD) children. Participants were assessed using the BIS-CI. Furthermore, the ASD group completed the Repetitive Stereotyped Behavior Scale - Revised Edition (RBS-R), the Social Response Scale (SRS), and the General Applicable Core Scale 4 for Quality of Life in Children (PedsQL 4) to evaluate reliability and validity, as well as to conduct correlation analyses.

RESULTS: The findings indicated that the Cronbach's α coefficient for the Chinese version of the BIS-CI was 0.822, while the test-retest reliability was 0.956, demonstrating strong reliability. EFA revealed a unidimensional scale, which displayed moderate correlations with the RBS-R, SRS, and PedsQL4. CFA revealed that the model exhibited favourable fit indices. Furthermore, the BIS-CI scores for the ASD group were significantly higher than those of the TD group, with the differences achieving statistical significance.

CONCLUSION: It offers clinicians and therapists a valuable assessment tool and a foundation for intervention guidance tailored to the behavioural inflexibility exhibited by children with ASD in China. Furthermore, it provides a theoretical basis for implementing effective intervention strategies in clinical practice.