Test-Retest Reliability and Minimal Detectable Change of a Brief Autism Screening Instrument: Evidence from 5,456 Brazilian Adults in a Naturalistic Online Setting
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: # Test-Retest Reliability and Minimal Detectable Change of a Brief Autism Screening Instrument: Evidence from 5,456 Brazilian Adults in a Naturalistic Online Setting ## Authors - **Unknown** — ORCID: [0000-0001-8815-7309](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8815-7309) - **Lenifer Siqueira Landim** — ORCID: [0009-0000-9305-1250](https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9305-1250) - **Charlene Coleman** — ORCID: [0009-0004-5829-4854](https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5829-4854) - **Ana Maria Luna Neri Benevides** — ORCID: [0000-0002-7723-8127](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7723-8127) ## Abstract Temporal stability is a fundamental psychometric property of screening instruments, yet large-scale test-retest data for brief autism screening tools in naturalistic settings remain scarce. We analyzed 5,456 Brazilian adults who completed TEAD, a 10-item autism screening instrument, at two time points, linked by device-level identifiers. The prespecified primary analysis window was 30–90 days (N = 1,980; mean interval 55.6 days), with secondary analyses spanning the full 30-day to 3.5-year range (N = 5,456). We computed ICC(A,1), standard error of measurement (SEM), minimal detectable change at 95% confidence (MDC₉₅), McDonald's omega, Bland-Altman limits of agreement, and conditional SEM across five contiguous score bands. TEAD demonstrated moderate test-retest reliability in the primary window: ICC = 0.627 (95% CI 0.591–0.660). Internal consistency was adequate but should be read as tentative pending structural validation (omega 0.772 T1, 0.784 T2). SEM was 2.50 points; MDC₉₅ was 6.92 points (34.6% of the 0–20 scale). Mean score increase was negligible (+0.45, d = 0.13). Conditional SEM revealed measurement error decreased at higher trait levels (Spearman ρ = −0.16, p < .001), a pattern partially attributable to scale-boundary variance restriction but directionally favorable. TEAD shows moderate device-level temporal agreement suitable for group-level screening research. The MDC₉₅ of approximately 7 points means only large score changes can be distinguished from measurement error, limiting individual-level monitoring. To our knowledge, this is among the largest test-retest studies of a brief autism screening instrument in a naturalistic online setting reported to date. ## Contents | File | Description | |------|-------------| | `COVER_LETTER.md` | | | `FIGURE_LIST.md` | | | `ICMJE_DATA_ACCESS_STATEMENT.md` | | | `MANUSCRIPT.md` | | | `MANUSCRIPT.pdf` | | | `README_OSF.md` | | | `T1_sample_characteristics.csv` | | | `T2_icc_estimates.csv` | | | `T3_sem_mdc.csv` | | | `T3_sem_mdc_fixed.json` | | | `T4_interval_stratified.csv` | | | `results_summary.json` | | | `BOARD_PROMPT_FINAL_APPROVAL.md` | | | `BOARD_PROMPT_SUBMISSION_GATE_TEAD.md` | | | `COVER_LETTER.md` | | | `F1_study_flow_intervals.png` | | | `F2_icc_by_interval.png` | | | `F3_sem_mdc_bland_altman.png` | | | `FIGURE_LIST.md` | | | `ICMJE_DATA_ACCESS_STATEMENT.md` | | | `MANUSCRIPT.md` | | | `MANUSCRIPT.pdf` | | | `README_OSF.md` | | | `SUBMISSION_METADATA.md` | | | `SUBMISSION_READINESS_STATUS.md` | | | `T1_sample_characteristics.csv` | | | `T2_icc_estimates.csv` | | | `T3_sem_mdc.csv` | | | `T3_sem_mdc_fixed.json` | | | `T4_interval_stratified.csv` | | | `results_summary.json` | | | `run_tead_analysis.py` | | ## License CC-BY 4.0 ## Preprint Registered on psyarxiv: [DOI to be assigned] --- *Repository created by neuratip-preprint-agent on 2026-07-22*
Source: Open Science Framework
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7170052829