title: Psychometric properties of the Brief Version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire in relatives of patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and non-psychiatric controls.
abstract: The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief Version (SPQ-B), which includes cognitive-perceptual, interpersonal, and disorganized domains, was developed as a concise, self-report measure of schizotypy. This analysis was conducted to: (1) determine the internal consistency reliability of SPQ-B total and subscale scores, (2) use confirmatory factor analysis to assess the three-factor model as well as a single-factor solution, and (3) examine a measure of concurrent criterion validity of SPQ-B scores. The study was conducted at a large, urban, university-affiliated, public-sector health system in the southeastern United States. Data were obtained from 118 participants, including 61 biological relatives of patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophreniform disorder, and 57 non-psychiatric controls. Relatives and controls did not differ significantly on SPQ-B total or subscale scores (or on the full 74-item SPQ total or subscale scores). Internal consistency reliability was adequate for the total SPQ-B score and the interpersonal subscale but was less than ideal for the cognitive-perceptual and disorganized subscales. Regarding the confirmatory factor analysis, though the three-factor solution yielded reasonably good fit to the data, the single-factor solution provided equal fit. Correlations between the three subscales ranged from .63 to .74. With regard to criterion validity, correlations between the SPQ-B total and subscale scores and schizotypy scores derived from a semi-structured, interview-based assessment revealed correlations generally ranging from .40 to .60. The SPQ-B may be a useful brief screening measure of schizotypy, though some limitations in its psychometric properties were evident in this sample. It may be advisable to use total SPQ-B scores rather than subscale scores in some situations, or to use factor analytic techniques to study the instrument's latent structure in specific samples.
authors.affiliation: Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 49 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, S.E., Room #333, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA. mcompto@emory.edu
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Compton
authors.forename: Victoria H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.forename: Annie M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bollini
mesh_terms: D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires