Factor structure of schizotypal traits among adolescents

The main purpose of the present study was to assess the factor structure of schizotypal personality traits in a sample of 1362 adolescents ranging in age from 14 to 18 years, i.e. in a sample of an age period where the risk of developing schizophrenia begins to rise. Schizotypal traits were assessed with the Schizotypal Personality Scale (STA) of Claridge and Broks (1984). A further aim of our study was to compare our findings with results from samples of other authors. We were also interested in the relationship of schizotypal traits with other clinical measures (depression and anxiety). The principal component analysis of the STA resulted in a three-factor solution and yielded results that were contrary in part to those reported by previous studies. Factor one was characterized as magical ideation/unusual perceptual experiences, factor two as ideas of reference/social anxiety, and factor three as suspiciousness. The three schizotypal factors and the depression and anxiety disorders scales correlated considerably. The differences between the factor structure of our adolescent sample and that of samples with older age cohorts were interpreted as due to the developmental process of clinical, especially schizotypal, traits.