Differences in responding to sensory stimuli, including sensory hyperreactivity (HYPER), hyporeactivity (HYPO), and sensory seeking (SEEK) have been observed in autistic individuals across sensory modalities, but few studies have examined the structure of these “supra-modal” traits in the autistic population. Leveraging a combined sample of 3868 autistic youth drawn from 12 distinct data sources (ages 3–18 years and representing the full range of cognitive ability), the current study used modern psychometric and meta-analytic techniques to interrogate the latent structure and correlates of caregiver-reported HYPER, HYPO, and SEEK within and across sensory modalities. Bifactor statistical indices were used to both evaluate the strength of a “general response pattern” factor for each supra-modal construct and determine the added value of “modality-specific response pattern” scores (e.g., Visual HYPER). Bayesian random-effects integrative data analysis models were used to examine the clinical and demographic correlates of all interpretable HYPER, HYPO, and SEEK (sub)constructs. All modality-specific HYPER subconstructs could be reliably and validly measured, whereas certain modality-specific HYPO and SEEK subconstructs were psychometrically inadequate when measured using existing items. Bifactor analyses supported the validity of a supra-modal HYPER construct (ωH = .800) but not a supra-modal HYPO construct (ωH = .653), and supra-modal SEEK models suggested a more limited version of the construct that excluded some sensory modalities (ωH = .800; 4/7 modalities). Modality-specific subscales demonstrated significant added value for all response patterns. Meta-analytic correlations varied by construct, although sensory features tended to correlate most with other domains of core autism features and co-occurring psychiatric symptoms (with general HYPER and speech HYPO demonstrating the largest numbers of practically significant correlations). Conclusions may not be generalizable beyond the specific pool of items used in the current study, which was limited to caregiver report of observable behaviors and excluded multisensory items that reflect many “real-world” sensory experiences. Of the three sensory response patterns, only HYPER demonstrated sufficient evidence for valid interpretation at the supra-modal level, whereas supra-modal HYPO/SEEK constructs demonstrated substantial psychometric limitations. For clinicians and researchers seeking to characterize sensory reactivity in autism, modality-specific response pattern scores may represent viable alternatives that overcome many of these limitations.

中文翻译：

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检查自闭症感觉反应的潜在结构和相关性：自闭症感觉研究联盟的多站点综合数据分析

在不同感觉模式的自闭症个体中观察到对感觉刺激的反应存在差异，包括感觉过度反应（HYPER）、反应低下（HYPO）和感觉寻求（SEEK），但很少有研究检验这些“超模式”特征的结构在自闭症人群中。本研究利用从 12 个不同数据源（年龄 3-18 岁，代表全方位的认知能力）抽取的 3868 名自闭症青少年的综合样本，使用现代心理测量和荟萃分析技术来询问照顾者的潜在结构和相关性-报告了感官模式内部和跨感官模式的 HYPER、HYPO 和 SEEK。双因素统计指数用于评估每个超模态结构的“一般反应模式”因素的强度，并确定“特定模态反应模式”分数的附加值（例如，Visual HYPER）。使用贝叶斯随机效应综合数据分析模型来检查所有可解释的 HYPER、HYPO 和 SEEK（子）结构的临床和人口统计学相关性。所有特定于模态的 HYPER 子结构都可以可靠且有效地测量，而某些特定于模态的 HYPO 和 SEEK 子结构在使用现有项目进行测量时在心理测量上是不够的。双因子分析支持超模态 HYPER 构造 (ωH = .800) 的有效性，但不支持超模态 HYPO 构造 (ωH = .653)，并且超模态 SEEK 模型提出了更有限的构造版本，排除了一些感觉模式（ωH = .800；4/7 模式）。特定模态的子量表显示出所有反应模式的显着附加值。元分析相关性因结构而异，尽管感觉特征往往与自闭症核心特征和同时出现的精神症状的其他领域最相关（一般 HYPER 和言语 HYPO 显示出最大数量的实际显着相关性）。结论可能无法推广到当前研究中使用的特定项目池之外，该项目仅限于护理人员可观察行为的报告，并排除了反映许多“现实世界”感官体验的多感官项目。在三种感觉反应模式中，只有 HYPER 证明了在超模态水平上进行有效解释的足够证据，而超模态 HYPO/SEEK 结构则表现出显着的心理测量局限性。对于寻求表征自闭症感觉反应性的临床医生和研究人员来说，特定模式的反应模式评分可能代表克服许多这些限制的可行替代方案。