Validating the repetitive behavior scale-revised for children in China aged 9 to 16 with autism spectrum disorder

Restricted and repetitive behavior (RRB) is one of the two core diagnostic features used to determine the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Repetitive Behavior Scale‑Revised (RBS-R) is widely used to measure the presence and severity of a variety of RRBs in individuals with ASD. Previous studies have implemented a factor analysis framework to examine the RBS-R, while there’re still inconsistencies in the use of the measure. This study analyzed the validity and reliability of the RBS-R using data from 315 Chinese children aged 9–16 with ASD. The results showed that the original tested items were adaptable to the Chinese cultural environment when treating such disorders. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a 6-factor model was most suitable for evaluating RRB in this context. Consistent with previous studies, the 6-factor model was preferred because of its fit statistics in evaluating RRBs using data from Chinese children with ASD aged 9–16. It’s necessary to implement the same structure (e.g. 6-factor model) of the RBS-R to enable efficient comparisons of results across studies. Validating the RBS-R cross different contexts and using longitudinal data are helpful to advance our knowledge of RRB.