Children’s Empathy Quotient and Systemizing Quotient – Parent version

Abstract

The Children’s Empathy Quotient and Systemizing Quotient – Parent version (Child EQ-SQ) is a standardized, parent-report questionnaire developed to measure individual differences in two core psychological constructs: Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ). This instrument is critical for researchers investigating the Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) theory, particularly in developmental populations. The scale was designed to provide quantitative measures of these traits in children, allowing for comparisons between typical development and clinical conditions, such as Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC).

Published by Auyeung and colleagues in 2009, the Child EQ-SQ consists of 55 items rated by a parent or primary caregiver. It has been instrumental in exploring typical sex differences in cognitive style, where females often score higher on EQ and males higher on SQ, and in characterizing the cognitive profile associated with ASC, which typically involves low EQ and high or average SQ.

Keywords

Empathy Quotient, Systemizing Quotient, EQ-SQ, Child Assessment, Parent-report, Autism Spectrum Conditions, Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Style, Individual Differences

Authors

B. Auyeung, S. Wheelwright, C. Allison, M. Atkinson, N. Samarawickrema, S. Baron-Cohen

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Child EQ-SQ is to quantify the degree to which a child displays empathizing and systemizing behaviors and interests. The scale serves as a foundational tool for testing the Empathizing-Systemizing theory in childhood populations, providing an objective measure derived from parental observation.

Specifically, the instrument aims to map the cognitive profiles of children, which is essential for understanding the etiology and phenomenology of neurodevelopmental conditions. By assessing both empathy and systemizing traits simultaneously, researchers can determine a child’s relative position on these two independent dimensions, offering greater insight than scales measuring only one trait.

Construct

The Child EQ-SQ measures two distinct psychological constructs derived from the E-S theory:

• Empathy Quotient (EQ): This construct refers to the drive to identify another person’s emotions and thoughts, and to respond to these with an appropriate emotion. High EQ involves strong social sensitivity, emotional responsiveness, and effective social communication.
• Systemizing Quotient (SQ): This construct refers to the drive to analyze, understand, and construct systems. A system is defined as anything that obeys rules, such as mechanical devices, mathematical patterns, or natural laws. High SQ involves intense interest in patterns, rules, predictability, and detailed structure, often leading to expertise in technical fields.

The scale items are carefully balanced to measure both constructs independently, providing two separate scores that reflect the child’s cognitive profile.

Validity

The validity of the Child EQ-SQ is strongly supported by its ability to reliably distinguish between clinical and non-clinical populations, as detailed in the original 2009 publication. Criterion validity is demonstrated by the finding that children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) scored significantly lower on the EQ scale and significantly higher or comparable on the SQ scale, compared to typically developing controls. This pattern aligns precisely with the predictions of the E-S theory regarding the ASC profile.

Furthermore, construct validity is reinforced by the observation of predictable sex differences within the typically developing sample, where girls showed significantly higher EQ scores than boys, and boys showed significantly higher SQ scores than girls. This pattern confirms that the scale successfully measures the hypothesized differences in cognitive style across genders.

Reliability

The Child EQ-SQ demonstrates strong internal consistency, confirming its reliability as a psychometric instrument. Across both the typically developing and ASC groups, the Empathy Quotient and Systemizing Quotient subscales yielded high Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. This indicates that the items within each respective subscale measure a consistent, unitary trait.

The high internal reliability suggests that the parent-report format provides a stable and consistent measure of the child’s behaviors related to empathy and systemizing drives, making it a dependable tool for research studies requiring precise quantification of these traits.

Factor Analysis

The development of the Child EQ-SQ utilized factor analysis techniques to confirm that the scale items load onto two distinct, yet potentially correlated, factors: Empathy and Systemizing. The resulting factor structure validates the theoretical separation of these two psychological dimensions as proposed by the E-S theory, rather than collapsing them into a single dimension.

The successful two-factor structure confirms the scale’s utility in providing independent measures of EQ and SQ, which is crucial for identifying specific cognitive profiles, such as those characterized by a “Type E” profile (high EQ, low SQ) or a “Type S” profile (low EQ, high SQ), often seen in ASC research.

Instrument

Test Type: Parent-report Questionnaire

Format: 55 items scored on a 4-point Likert-type scale (Definitely Agree, Slightly Agree, Slightly Disagree, Definitely Disagree). The scale is divided into Empathy items and Systemizing items.

Language Available: Primarily English, with translations often developed for international research purposes.

Population Group: Children

Age Group: Typically utilized for children aged 4 to 11 years, based on the original standardization samples.

Population Details: Used extensively in non-clinical samples to study typical development, as well as in clinical populations, particularly those with neurodevelopmental differences such as ASC.

Test Methodology: The parent or caregiver completes the questionnaire based on their observations of the child’s typical behavior. Responses are scored, with certain items being reverse-scored, to yield separate total scores for the Empathy Quotient and the Systemizing Quotient. Higher scores indicate a greater manifestation of the respective trait.

Keywords

Empathy, Systemizing, Baron-Cohen, Developmental Disorders, Psychological Measurement, Cognitive Profile, Child EQ-SQ, Questionnaire, Parent Rating

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not uniformly provided for all authors in the original source, but S. Baron-Cohen’s work is widely documented.

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact information is typically managed through the Autism Research Centre (ARC) at the University of Cambridge.

Correspondence Address: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, UK.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was published in 2009. The Child EQ-SQ, like many instruments developed by the Autism Research Centre (ARC), is generally available for free use by researchers for non-commercial academic purposes. Researchers should consult the ARC website for the latest permission requirements and licensing agreements before use. The original PDF describing the scale’s development and validation can be downloaded here: http://docs.autismresearchcentre.com/papers/2009_Auyeung_etal_ChildEQSQ_JADD.pdf

Reference’s

The foundational reference for the Children’s Empathy Quotient and Systemizing Quotient – Parent version is:

• Auyeung, B., Wheelwright, S., Allison, C., Atkinson, M., Samarawickrema, N., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2009). The Children’s Empathy Quotient and Systemizing Quotient: Sex Differences in Typical Development and in Autism Spectrum Conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(11), 1509–1521.

Items of the Children’s Empathy Quotient and Systemizing Quotient – Parent version

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Child EQ-SQ Questionnaire

1. My child likes to look after other people.
2. My child often doesn’t understand why some things upset other people so much.
3. My child doesn’t mind if things in the house are not in their proper place.
4. My child would not cry or get upset if a character in a film died.
5. My child enjoys arranging things precisely (e.g. flowers, books, music collections).
6. My child is quick to notice when people are joking.
7. My child enjoys cutting up worms, or pulling the legs off insects.
8. My child is interested in the different members of a specific animal category (e.g. dinosaurs, insects, etc).
9. My child has stolen something they wanted from their sibling or friend.
10. My child is interested in different types of vehicles (e.g. types of trains, cars, planes, etc).
11. My child does not spend large amounts of time lining things up in a particular order (e.g. toy soldiers, animals, cars).
12. If they had to build a Lego or Meccano model, my child would follow an instruction sheet rather than “ploughing straight in”.
13. My child has trouble forming friendships.
14. When playing with other children, my child spontaneously takes turns and shares toys.
15. My child prefers to read or listen to fiction rather than non-fiction.
16. My child’s bedroom is usually messy rather than organised.
17. My child can be blunt giving their opinions, even when these may upset someone.
18. My child would enjoy looking after a pet.
19. My child likes to collect things (e.g. stickers, trading cards, etc).
20. My child is often rude or impolite without realising it.
21. My child knows how to mix paints to produce different colours.
22. My child would not notice if something in the house had been moved or changed.
23. My child has been in trouble for physical bullying.
24. My child enjoys physical activities with set rules (e.g. martial arts, gymnastics, ballet, etc).
25. My child can easily figure out the controls of the video or DVD player.
26. At school, when my child understands something they can easily explain it clearly to others.
27. My child would find it difficult to list their top 5 songs or films in order.
28. My child has one or two close friends, as well as several other friends.
29. My child quickly grasps patterns in numbers in maths.
30. My child listens to others’ opinions, even when different from their own.
31. My child shows concern when others are upset.
32. My child is not interested in understanding the workings of machines (e.g. cameras, traffic lights, the TV, etc).
33. My child can seem so preoccupied with their own thoughts that they don’t notice others getting bored.
34. My child enjoys games that have strict rules (e.g. chess, dominos, etc).
35. My child gets annoyed when things aren’t done on time.
36. My child blames other children for things that they themselves have done.
37. My child gets very upset if they see an animal in pain.
38. My child knows the differences between the latest models of games-consoles (e.g. X-box, Playstation, etc.,) or other gadgets.
39. My child remembers large amounts of information about a topic that interests them (e.g. flags of the world, football teams, pop groups, etc).
40. My child sometimes pushes or pinches someone if they are annoying them.
41. My child is interested in following the route on a map on a journey.
42. My child can easily tell when another person wants to enter into conversation with them.
43. My child is good at negotiating for what they want.
44. My child likes to create lists of things (e.g. favourite toys, TV programmes, etc).
45. My child would worry about how another child would feel if they weren’t invited to a party.
46. My child likes to spend time mastering particular aspects of their favourite activities (e.g. skate-board or yo-yo tricks, football or ballet moves).
47. My child finds using computers difficult.
48. My child gets upset at seeing others crying or in pain.
49. If they had a sticker album, my child would not be satisfied until it was completed.
50. My child enjoys events with organised routines (e.g. brownies, cubs, beavers, etc).
51. My child is not bothered about knowing the exact timings of the day’s plans.
52. My child likes to help new children integrate in class.
53. My child has been in trouble for name-calling or teasing.
54. My child would not enjoy working to complete a puzzle (e.g. crossword, jigsaw, word-search).
55. My child tends to resort to physical aggression to get what they want.