Cross-cultural invariance of the factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire across Spanish and American college students
- Fonseca-Pedrero, E. 12
- Compton, M.T. 3
- Tone, E.B. 4
- Ortuño-Sierra, J. 2
- Paino, M. 16
- Fumero, A. 5
- Lemos-Giráldez, S. 1
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1
Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Salud Mental
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Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Salud Mental
Madrid, España
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2
Universidad de La Rioja
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3
Lenox Hill Hospital
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Georgia State University
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Universidad de La Laguna
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Universidad de Oviedo
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ISSN: 0165-1781
Year of publication: 2014
Volume: 220
Issue: 3
Pages: 1071-1076
Type: Article
More publications in: Psychiatry Research
Abstract
The main goal of this study was to examine the cross-cultural invariance of the factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) (Raine, 1991) in two large samples of Spanish and American young adults. The final sample was made up of 2313 college students (508 men, 22%). Their mean age was 20.5 years (S.D.=3.2). The results indicated that the Stefanis et al. (2004) four-factor model yielded the best goodness-of-fit indices compared to alternative models. Moreover, the results support configural, metric, and partial measurement invariance of the covariances of the SPQ across the two samples. The finding of measurement equivalence across cultures provides essential evidence of construct validity for the schizotypy dimensions and of the cross-cultural validity of SPQ scores. The finding of comparable dimensional structures in cross-cultural samples lends further support to the continuum model of schizotypy and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Future studies should continue to examine the validity of scores on the SPQ and other schizotypy measures and their variation or consistency across cultures.