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The relationship between schizotypal facets and conspiracist beliefs via cognitive processes

Barron D, Furnham A, Weis L, Morgan KD, Towell T, Swami V

Psychiatry Res, 2018 01;259:15-20.
PMID: 29024855 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.10.001

This study sought to replicate previous work showing relationships between components of schizotypy and conspiracist beliefs, and extend it by examining the mediating role of cognitive processes. An international online sample of 411 women and men (mean age = 35.41 years) completed measures of the schizotypal facets of Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and Ideas of Reference, conspiracist beliefs, and cognitive processes related to need for cognition, analytic thinking, and cognitive insight. Path analysis confirmed the associations between both schizotypal facets and conspiracist beliefs in the present sample. Confirmatory evidence was found for the association between analytic thinking and conspiracist beliefs, and results also suggested an association between cognitive insight and conspiracist beliefs. Cognitive insight also mediated the link between Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and Ideas of Reference with conspiracist beliefs. However, analytic thinking provided a mediating link to conspiracy ideation for Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and not Ideas of Reference. Finally, there was an association between Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and need for cognition, but this path did not extend to conspiracist beliefs. These results suggest possible mediating roles for analytic thinking and self-certainty between schizotypy and conspiracist beliefs.

Matched MeSH terms: Schizotypal Personality Disorder/psychology*
A reassessment of the higher-order factor structure of the German Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ-G) in German-speaking adults

Barron D, Voracek M, Tran US, Ong HS, Morgan KD, Towell T, et al.

Psychiatry Res, 2018 11;269:328-336.
PMID: 30173038 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.08.070

The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) is a widely-used self-report instrument for the assessment of schizotypal personality traits. However, the factor structure of scores on English and non-English translations of the SPQ has been a matter of debate. With little previous factorial evaluation of the German version of the SPQ (SPQ-G), we re-assessed the higher-order factor structure of the measure. A total of 2,428 German-speaking adults from Central Europe (CE) and the United Kingdom (UK) completed the SPQ-G. Confirmatory factor analysis - testing proposed 2-, 3-, and 4-factor models of SPQ-G scores - indicated that the 4-factor solution had best fit. Partial measurement invariance across cultural group (CE and UK) and sex was obtained for the 4-factor model. Further analyses showed CE participants had significantly higher scores than UK participants on one schizotypal facet. These results suggest that scores on the SPQ-G are best explained in terms of a higher-order, 4-factor solution in German migrant and non-migrant adults.

Matched MeSH terms: Schizotypal Personality Disorder/diagnosis*; Schizotypal Personality Disorder/ethnology; Schizotypal Personality Disorder/psychology
Psychometric properties of the Malay Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire: Measurement invariance and latent mean comparisons in Malaysian adults

Barron D, Morgan KD, Towell T, Jaafar JL, Swami V

Asia Pac Psychiatry, 2018 Mar;10(1).
PMID: 28677341 DOI: 10.1111/appy.12293

INTRODUCTION: The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) is a widely used self-report measurement instrument for the assessment of schizotypal personality traits. However, the factor structure of the SPQ has been a matter of some debate. As a contribution to this debate, we examined the factor structure of the SPQ in Malaysian adults.
METHOD: A total of 382 Malaysian adults completed a Malay translation of the SPQ. Confirmatory factory analysis was used to examine the fit of 3- and 4-factor solutions for the higher-order dimensionality of the SPQ. Ethnic invariance for the best-fitting model was tested at the configural, metric, and scalar levels, and a multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine sex and ethnicity differences in domain scores.
RESULTS: The 4-factor model provided a better fit to the data than did the 3-factor model. The 4-factor model also demonstrated partial measurement invariance across ethnic groups. Latent mean comparisons for sex and ethnicity revealed a number of significant differences for both factors, but effect sizes were small.
DISCUSSION: The 4-factor structure of the SPQ received confirmatory support and can be used in Malay-speaking populations.

Matched MeSH terms: Schizotypal Personality Disorder/diagnosis*; Schizotypal Personality Disorder/ethnology
Fulltext Examination of the factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire among British and Trinidadian adults

Barron D, Swami V, Towell T, Hutchinson G, Morgan KD

Biomed Res Int, 2015;2015:258275.
PMID: 25699263 DOI: 10.1155/2015/258275

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.

Matched MeSH terms: Schizotypal Personality Disorder/psychology*
Fulltext Psychiatric morbidity in schizophrenic relatives--use of Self-Reporting Questionnaires (SRQ)

Salleh MR

Singapore Med J, 1990 Oct;31(5):457-62.
PMID: 2259943

A validated study of the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) of the World Health Organization against ICD-9 was found to have good validation indices at the cut-off point of 5/6. The sensitivity was 84.8% and specificity 83.7%. However, SRQ-24 had poor validation indices and are too sensitive to detect psychotic illness. Twenty-three per cent of 264 schizophrenic relatives who had been staying together with them and or actively involved in their care for at least one year had neurotic disorders compared with 1% who had latent schizophrenia. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was higher in the first-degree relatives compared with non-first degree relatives.

Matched MeSH terms: Schizotypal Personality Disorder/diagnosis
Brief assessment of schizotypal traits: A multinational study

Fonseca-Pedrero E, Ortuño-Sierra J, Lucas-Molina B, Debbané M, Chan RCK, Cicero DC, et al.

Schizophr Res, 2018 07;197:182-191.
PMID: 29113776 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.10.043

The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B) was developed with the aim of examining variations in healthy trait schizotypy, as well as latent vulnerability to psychotic-spectrum disorders. No previous study has studied the cross-cultural validity of the SPQ-B in a large cross-national sample. The main goal of the present study was to analyze the reliability and the internal structure of SPQ-B scores in a multinational sample of 28,426 participants recruited from 14 countries. The mean age was 22.63years (SD=7.08; range 16-68years), 37.7% (n=10,711) were men. The omega coefficients were high, ranging from 0.86 to 0.92 for the total sample. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that SPQ-B items were grouped either in a theoretical structure of three first-order factors (Cognitive-Perceptual, Interpersonal, and Disorganized) or in a bifactor model (three first-order factors plus a general factor of schizotypal personality). In addition, the results supported configural but not strong measurement invariance of SPQ-B scores across samples. These findings provide new information about the factor structure of schizotypal personality, and support the validity and utility of the SPQ-B, a brief and easy tool for assessing self-reported schizotypal traits, in cross-national research. Theoretical and clinical implications for diagnostic systems, psychosis models, and cross-national mental health strategies are derived from these results.

Matched MeSH terms: Schizotypal Personality Disorder