title: Examination of the factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire among British and Trinidadian adults.
abstract: Much debate in schizotypal research has centred on the factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), with research variously showing higher-order dimensionality consisting of two to seven dimensions. In addition, cross-cultural support for the stability of those factors remains limited. Here, we examined the factor structure of the SPQ among British and Trinidadian adults. Participants from a White British subsample (n = 351) resident in the UK and from an African Caribbean subsample (n = 284) resident in Trinidad completed the SPQ. The higher-order factor structure of the SPQ was analysed through confirmatory factor analysis, followed by multiple-group analysis for the model of best fit. Between-group differences for sex and ethnicity were investigated using multivariate analysis of variance in relation to the higher-order domains. The model of best-fit was the four-factor structure, which demonstrated measurement invariance across groups. Additionally, these data had an adequate fit for two alternative models: (a) 3-factor and (b) modified 4-factor model. The British subsample had significantly higher scores across all domains than the Trinidadian group, and men scored significantly higher on the disorganised domain than women. The four-factor structure received confirmatory support and, importantly, support for use with populations varying in ethnicity and culture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barron
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK ; Department of Psychology, HELP University, BZ-2, Pusat Bandar Damansara (Main Block), 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Viren
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Swami
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7540-6257
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Towell
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mount Hope, Champs Fleurs, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK.
authors.forename: Kevin D
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0172-2032
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005006:Ethnicity; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014300:Trinidad and Tobago; D006113:United Kingdom