The unique contribution of Schizotypal personality subscales to psychotic-like experiences and social-personality factors in Hong Kong community youths

Introduction: Schizotypal personality is a multifaceted construct that can be presented as the subscription to unusual thinking and behavior, few close relationships, and paranoia. The brief form of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire indexed these tendencies into Interpersonal, Cognitive-Perceptual, and Disorganization subscales. The current study aims to validate the three-factor structure of self-report subclinical schizotypy traits among an epidemiological youth sample in Hong Kong and their relationship with psychotic-like experiences, personality traits, and social factors. Methods: 3186 participants (58.3% female) between the ages of 15 and 25 (mean=19.8, SD = 2.8) completed a self-administered questionnaire package comprised of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief form, the Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, and the Big Five Inventory. Factor analysis was conducted on schizotypal items, and the association between outcomes was tested using hierarchical linear regression. Results: Confirmatory Factor Analysis suggested that the three-factor model was a moderate-to-good fit. The Interpersonal subscale was associated with all outcomes and had higher explanatory power on social outcomes. Cognitive-Perceptual and Disorganization subscales had higher explanatory power on psychotic-like experiences. Discussion: The study highlights the replicability of subclinical schizotypy traits in Hong Kong youths. Each of the three factors had overlapping and unique associations with psychopathological and social-personality outcomes that can predispose individuals to mental ill health.