Table 2.
Factor Loadings, Communalities, and Accuracy Rates for EAGL-short (EFA)
| Variable | Factor 1 | Factor 2 | Factor 3 | h2 | Accuracy Rate | Question | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjective knowledge | GENE | 0.822* | 0.010 | −0.147 | 0.697 | ||
| CHRO | 0.800* | −0.072 | −0.002 | 0.645 | |||
| SUSC | 0.721* | 0.091 | 0.036 | 0.529 | |||
| MUTA | 0.835* | 0.030 | −0.010 | 0.698 | |||
| VARI | 0.634* | −0.058 | 0.140 | 0.425 | |||
| HERE | 0.734* | 0.038 | −0.092 | 0.549 | |||
| SPOR | 0.483* | 0.006 | 0.083 | 0.240 | |||
| Knowledge comprehension | D1 (E1) | 0.057 | 0.586* | 0.190 | 0.383 | 87.93% |
Q: What is the purpose of genetic testing for autism? Correct A: Genetic testing analyzes someone’s DNA to find genetic variations related to autism. |
| D2 (E2) | −0.051 | 0.482* | 0.135 | 0.253 | 98.30% |
Q: Please select the phrase that best completes the following statement: Genetic variations that could increase a person’s chance of being autistic… Correct A: Can be present in some siblings and not others. |
|
| D3 (E3) | −0.027 | 0.959* | −0.006 | 0.920 | 94.20% |
Q: What percentage of individuals who have genetic testing for autism are found to have a variation related to autism? Correct A: 25% |
|
| D4 (E4) | −0.005 | 0.930* | −0.022 | 0.865 | 92.85% |
Q: What percentage of individuals who have genetic testing for autism will receive results with no genetic variations related to autism? Correct A: 75% |
|
| Conceptual knowledge | E1_1 (F11) | 0.032 | 0.245 | 0.483* | 0.294 | 74.93% |
Q: A gene is a cell. Correct A: False |
| E1_2 (F14) | −0.052 | 0.037 | 0.474* | 0.229 | 74.75% |
Q: Genes are bigger than chromosomes. Correct A: False |
|
| E1_3 (F15) | −0.011 | 0.016 | 0.481* | 0.232 | 72.76% |
Q: The genome can be changed by human intervention. Correct A: True |
|
| E1_4 (F17) | −0.083 | 0.054 | 0.533* | 0.294 | 80.37% |
Q: Environmental factors, such as UV radiation, can change our DNA sequence. Correct A: True |
|
| E2_1 (A6) | 0.085 | 0.063 | 0.458* | 0.221 | 73.52% |
Q: Your genome is… Correct A: Your entire and complete set of DNA |
|
| E2_2 (C6) | −0.032 | −0.007 | 0.654* | 0.429 | 73.11% |
Q: The term DNA stands for… Correct A: Deoxyribonucleic acid |
Table 2 presents results from exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the EAGL-short instrument. Factor loadings marked with asterisks (*) indicate primary loadings ≥ 0.40 for each variable. h2 = communality, or the proportion of variance in a measured variable that is explained by the underlying factors (latent constructs)43. Accuracy rates are provided for knowledge comprehension and conceptual knowledge items, indicating the percentage of participants who answered each question correctly. Original question numbers remain in parentheses, for comparison with the EAGL-long and previous iterations of the measure.