Psychometric characteristics of three measures of SPD : effects of gender : [an honors thesis] (HONRS 499)

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Authors
Lennington, Lana L.
Advisor
Balogh, Deborah W.
Issue Date
1992
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (B.?.)
Department
Honors College
Other Identifiers
Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess possible gender differences between college females and males on three measures of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD); the Rust Inventory of Schizotypal Cognitions (RISC), the Psychosis Proness Scales and a relatively new scale developed by Venables, Wilkins, Mitchell, Raine and Bales. Separate analyses for males (n=364) and females (n=482) included item-total correlations and coefficient alpha estimates. Analysis of the psychometric properties of the measures suggests the measures are both reliable and internally consistent for both males and females. Gender effects were evaluated via t-test for each of the measures employed. Additionally, factor analysis procedures were applied to the RISC, and gender differences were evaluated for each factor of this measure. Finally, the Venables et al. scale was also evaluated in terms of gender differences on its two factors. Males tended to score significantly higher on subscales which taped more negative symptoms such as Physical Anhedonia while females scored significantly higher on some subscales which assessed more positive symptoms such as Schizophrenism, however, these results did not generalize to all the measures employed. No gender differences were found for the RISC as a whole and analysis of the factors also resulted in no gender differences. These findings converge with those obtained for negative symptoms among male schizophrenics but the present study found little support for the increased likelihood of positive symptoms among female subjects.