Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the AASPIRE Social Support Scale for Autistic Adults

The AASPIRE Social Support Scale shows a well-fitting five-domain structure and high reliability (α=0.87–0.95) in 859 autistic adults, supporting distinct social support domains.

• Why it matters: Existing social support measures may not be autism-informed, can be hard for autistic adults to use, and often lack strong psychometric testing in autistic populations.
• What they did: Using community-based participatory research, the team adapted PROMIS social support items into five domains and analyzed baseline data from 859 autistic adults with confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, and measurement invariance across reporting approaches.
• The result: Measurement invariance held across independent direct-report, supported direct-report, and caregiver report, and social support scores differed by reporting group, enabling comparable assessment across communication and support needs.

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