The Factorial Structure of Schizotypy: Part I. Affinities With Syndromes of Schizophrenia (original) (raw)
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A confirmatory factor analysis of the structure of schizotypy
European Journal of Personality, 1995
Recent research into schizotypal traits has been concerned with the number andnature of these personality dimensions. Earlier exploratory factor analytic work using a wide variety of scales (the CSTQ) has generated a four-factor solution but other solutions have been provided by other investigators. This study uses confirmatory factor analysis on a large sample to compare several plausible models of the relationships between scales. These models include a two-factor model separating positive' from 'negative' schizotypal features, a three-factor model including features of cognitive disorganization, and the four-factor model generated previously by exploratory factor analysis. Results offer support for the four-factor solution as the only structure meeting multiple criteria for goodness offit. The relevance of Eysenck's dimensions, and the P scale in particular, to the results i % discussed. Attention is drawn to the possibility that the factors describe predispositions of risk of psychotic disorders beyond that of schizophrenia.
Factor structure of schizotypy with normal subjects: a replication of Hewitt and Claridge 1989
Personality and Individual Differences, 1995
The aim of the present study was to replicate the factor structure of the STA, a measure of schizotypal personality, reported by Hewitt and Claridge (Personality and Individual Difjerences, 10, 323-329 1989). Factor analysis was carried out on data collected from 268 normal subjects who completed the STA. A three factor solution yielded results very similar to those reported by Hewitt and Claridge. Factor one was characterized as magical ideation, factor two as unusual perceptual experiences, and factor three as paranoid ideation and suspicion. These data largely confirm the validity of the Hewitt and Claridge (1989) STA subscales.
Schizotypal Personality Traits: An Extension of Previous Psychometric Investigations
Australian Journal of Psychology, 1998
In an exploratory scale factor analysis of the Combined Schizotypal Traits Questionnaire, Claridge et al. (1996) reported four schizotypal trait dimensions, which they labelled Aberrant Perceptions and Beliefs, Cognitive Disorganisation with Anxiety, Introvertive Anhedonia, and Asocial Behaviour. The present paper reports the findings of a further examination of both scale and item factor analyses, and proposes an alternative five-factor model. Positive and negative schizotypal trait factors emerged separately from general personality factors pertaining to extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism, showing that schizotypal traits cannot simply be reduced to the Eysenckian personality dimensions. The positive schizotypal factor also exhibited strong loadings on measures of delusions, suggesting that delusional cognition is a major component of schizotypal personality. The present five-factor model (supported by LISREL confirmatory factor analyses) may have important implications for future research into and clinical assessment of schizotypal personality traits.
The Factor Structure of Schizotypal Symptoms in a Clinical Population
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 1996
There is some support for the hypothesis that the factor structure of schizophrenia symptoms is similar to the factor structure of schizotypal symptoms in nonschizophrenia populations. However, no studies to date have examined schizotypal symptoms in patients with personality disorders. In this study, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the relative fit of several models of the factorial structure of schizotypal symptoms in patients diagnosed with personality disorders. The EQS: Structural Equations Program was used to analyze DSM-III symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) based on structured clinical interviews with 213 patients meeting a diagnosis for at least one personality disorder. A subgroup of the total sample was also evaluated for DSM-III-R criteria (« = 143) to test competing models of the DSM-III-R symptoms of SPD. A three-factor model consisting of a cognitive-perceptual, interpersonal, and paranoid factor yielded the best fit to the data relative to the other models tested. These results suggest that the three-factor model of schizophrenia symptoms may not entirely correspond to the factors underlying milder schizotypal symptoms expressed in a clinical population. It is suggested that future research focus on both the similarities and the differences between SPD and schizophrenia.
Cognitive-perceptual, Interpersonal, and Disorganized Features of Schizotypal Personality
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 1994
While two factors are currently thought to underlie individual differences in schizotypal personality, three factors may best explain schizotypal traits. This study used confirmatory factor analysis to assess five competing models of schizotypal personality in the general population: null model, one-factor model, simple two-factor model, Kendler twofactor model, and three-factor model. The computer program LISREL was used to analyze Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire subscale scores that reflect the nine traits of schizotypal personality. The scores were obtained from (1) a sample of 822 undergraduates and (2) a replication sample of 102 subjects drawn from the community. Results indicate replicable support for a three-factor model reflecting cognitive-perceptual, interpersonal, and disorganized latent factors. Low intercorrelations between the first two factors and the lack of fit by a one-factor model are partially inconsistent with recent notions that a single vulnerability dimension underlies schizotypal personality. It is argued that future investigations should assess the correlates of all three schizotypal factors in clinical and nonclinical samples in addition to the two more traditional factors. It is hypothesized that three factors of schizophrenic symptomatology observed in recent studies may reflect an exaggeration of three analogous factors found in the general population.
Personality disorders, 2014
Schizotypy is a multidimensional construct that captures the expression of schizophrenic symptoms and impairment from subclinical levels to full-blown psychosis. The present study examined the comparability of the factor structure of 2 leading psychometric measures of schizotypy: the Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales (WSS) and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Both the SPQ and WSS purportedly capture the multidimensional structure of schizotypy; however, whether they are measuring comparable factors has not been empirically demonstrated. This study provided support for a 2-factor model with positive and negative factors underlying the WSS; however, contrary to previous findings, the best fit for the SPQ was for a 4-factor model using confirmatory factor analysis, and a 2-factor model using exploratory factor analysis. The WSS factors were relatively distinct, whereas those underlying the SPQ showed high overlap. The WSS positive and SPQ cognitive-perceptual factors appeared...
Schizophrenia …, 2009
Objective Although several exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses have supported the initially proposed factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) in which its nine subscales are grouped into cognitive-perceptual, interpersonal, and disorganized domains, others have revealed different latent structures. This study determined the best-fitting factor structure from among five models that have been proposed in the literature, as well as five additional hierarchically related models. Method Undergraduate college students (n=825) completed the SPQ as well as the Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS) and the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale (SAS). Confirmatory factor analyses involving the nine SPQ subscales were conducted using the Linear Structural Relations Program (LISREL 8.72). Results The best fitting model was a previously described 4-factor model including cognitiveperceptual, paranoid, negative, and disorganized domains. Correlations between the derived SPQ domains and the PAS score ranged r=.26-.39, and correlations between the SPQ domains and the SAS ranged r=.07-.41. Conclusions The present findings support a 4-factor model over the standard 3-factor model that is typically used to derive SPQ subscale scores. The four derived domains are minimally to moderately correlated with other measures of psychosis-proneness.
The Schizotypic Syndrome Questionnaire (SSQ): Psychometrics, validation and norms
Schizophrenia Research, 2006
This paper examines the psychometric properties (reliability and factor structure) and validity (relationship with various selfreport measures and SPEM dysfunction) of the SSQ or Schizotypic Syndrome Questionnaire, a 108-item inventory for the measurement of 12 prodromal or schizotypic symptoms present in Van Kampen's model of schizophrenic prodromal unfolding. This paper also provides normative data for the SSQ. The SSQ demonstrates adequate reliability and breaks down into three correlated factors: negative schizotypy, asocial schizotypy and positive schizotypy. Results further attest the construct validity of the instrument. Because of the implications of the SSQ model for the definition of schizophrenia, the instrument's threedimensional factor structure and the nature of one of the factors are discussed in more detail. D
Schizotypal Personality Traits
In an exploratory scale factor analysis of the Combined Schizotypal Traits Questionnaire, Claridge et al. (1996) reported four schizotypal trait dimensions, which they labelled Aberrant Perceptions and Beliefs, Cognitive Disorganisation with Anxiety, Introvertive Anhedonia, and Asocial Behaviour. The present paper reports the findings of a further examination of both scale and item factor analyses, and proposes an alternative five-factor model. Positive and negative schizotypal trait factors emerged separately from general personality factors pertaining to extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism, showing that schizotypal traits cannot simply be reduced to the Eysenckian personality dimensions. The positive schizotypal factor also exhibited strong loadings on measures of delusions, suggesting that delusional cognition is a major component of schizotypal personality. The present five-factor model (supported by LISREL confirmatory factor analyses) may have important implications for future research into and clinical assessment of schizotypal personality traits.
The factor structure of "schizotypal" traits: A large replication study
1996
The heterogeneity of schizotypal traits, suggested in previous research, was further investigated in a sample of subjects (N = 1095) administered a composite questionnaire consisting of a large number of published scales the majority of which were designed to measure psychotic characteristics. Factor analysis confirmed the four components previously indicated in our work with the same instrument; namely, 'aberrant perceptions