title: Schizotypal personality questionnaire: new sources of validity evidence in college students.
abstract: Schizotypal traits represent the behavioral expression of vulnerability to psychosis in general population. Among the most widely used measurement instruments, we could find the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) (Raine, 1991). However, some aspects of its psychometric quality have yet to be analyzed. The main goal of the present study was to gather new sources of validity evidence of the SPQ scores in non-clinical young adults. The final sample was made up of 1123 college students (M=20.3 years; S.D.=2.6). The study of the internal structure using exploratory factor analysis revealed that SPQ items were grouped in a theoretical structure of seven second-order factors. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the four-factor model (Paranoid) displayed better goodness-of-fit indices than the other hypothetical dimensional models tested. More complex measurement models, such as those tested using second-order confirmatory factor analyses and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling, also showed adequate goodness-of-fit indices. The reliability of the SPQ scores ranged from 0.80 to 0.91. A total of 11 items showed differential functioning by gender. Advances in psychosis phenotype measurement open up new horizons to understand the structure and content of schizotypy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Sciences, University of La Rioja, Spain; Center for Biomedical Research in the Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM), Spain. Electronic address: eduardofonseca@unirioja.es.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fonseca-Pedrero
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of La Laguna, Spain.
authors.forename: Ascensión
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fumero
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Spain; Center for Biomedical Research in the Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM), Spain.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paino
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of La Laguna, Spain.
authors.forename: Adelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Miguel
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Sciences, University of La Rioja, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ortuño-Sierra
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Spain; Center for Biomedical Research in the Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM), Spain.
authors.forename: Serafín
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lemos-Giráldez
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Spain; Center for Biomedical Research in the Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM), Spain.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muñiz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D013030:Spain; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Confirmatory factor analysis; Reliability; SPQ; Schizotypal; Schizotypy; Validation