Brief Description
The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire – Brief Revised (SPQ-BR) is a shortened, revised version of the original Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) developed by Raine (1991). It is designed to assess traits associated with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), a condition characterized by social and interpersonal deficits, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentric behaviors. The measure contains 32 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale. The SPQ-BR is made up of three factors–Interpersonal, Cognitive Perceptual, and Disorganized–each of which as its own resultant domain score. The SPQ-BR is frequently used in both clinical and research settings to screen for schizotypal traits in nonclinical populations as well as in psychiatric contexts.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
32
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
No recommended standard frequency. Blueprint recommends using this as a screening tool for schizotypal traits in individuals suspected of having schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) or related conditions. See clinical considerations for further information about administration frequency.
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The SPQ-BR contains 32 items on 5-point Likert scale with options ranging from “Strongly Disagree” (0) to “Strongly Agree” (4). The total score is generated by summing the item responses, with higher scores indicating a greater likelihood or intensity of schizotypal personality features. The domain scores are generating by summing the item scores associated with each respective domain (see table below):
Domain | Corresponding Items |
Interpersonal | 1, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 19, 29, 32 |
Cognitive Perceptual | 3, 7, 10, 12, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 |
Disorganized | 2, 4, 5, 8, 15, 23, 30, 31 |
The subscales within each domain are as follows:
Domain | Subscales |
Interpersonal | no Close Friends (CF), Constricted Affect (CA), and Social Anxiety (SA) |
Cognitive Perceptual | Ideas of Reference (IR), Suspiciousness (SU), Magical Thinking (MT), and Unusual Perceptions (UP) |
Disorganized | Eccentric Behavior (EB) and Odd Speech (OS) |
Of note, the domain scores are not comparable to one another since they are calculated by summing varying numbers of items.
Similarly, the subscale scores are calculated by summing the item responses associated with each subscale. As with the domain scores, the subscale scores are not comparable to one another since they are calculated by summing varying numbers of items. The items associated with each subscale are as follows:
Subscale | Items | Range |
no Close Friends (CF) | 14, 17, 29 | 0-12 |
Constricted Affect (CA) | 6, 9, 32 | 0-12 |
Social Anxiety (SA) | 1, 11, 16, 19 | 0-16 |
Ideas of Reference (IR) | 18, 25, 26 | 0-12 |
Suspiciousness (SU) | 10, 24, 28 | 0-12 |
Magical Thinking (MT) | 3, 12, 20, 22 | 0-16 |
Unusual Perceptions (UP) | 7, 13, 21, 27 | 0-16 |
Eccentric Behavior (EB) | 2, 4, 30, 31 | 0-16 |
Odd Speech (OS) | 5, 8, 15, 23 | 0-16 |
Blueprint Adjustments
Of note, there is conflicting evidence for the number of unique subscales. Blueprint utilized the updated subscales utilized by Davidson and colleagues (2016). The original publication of the SPQ-BR (Cohen et al., 2010) combined two sets of subscales: no Close Friends (CF) with Constricted Affect (CA) and Ideas of Reference (IR) with Suspiciousness (SU). Blueprint reports all domain and subscale scores as individual subscales.
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 8-16 minutes
The SPQ-BR is often used to assess schizotypal traits in both clinical populations (such as individuals at risk of psychosis) and nonclinical populations (to measure subclinical schizotypy).
The SPQ-BR should be used within the context of a broader clinical assessment, as schizotypal traits can vary in severity and may overlap with other personality disorders or mental health conditions, including schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
A high score on the SPQ-BR does not confirm a diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder but indicates traits that may warrant further exploration by a clinician.
Some schizotypal features, such as magical thinking or unusual beliefs, might be influenced by cultural or subcultural norms, and this should be considered when interpreting scores.
The SPQ-BR has been used with adolescents, typically those aged 16 years and older. However, clinicians should be cautious when interpreting results in younger populations since personality traits, including schizotypal traits, may still be in developmental flux during adolescence.
There is no research evidence providing clear recommendations for frequency of administration beyond use as a screening tool. However, based on general clinical and research practices surrounding the assessment of personality traits and related psychiatric conditions, it could be helpful to administer the SPQ-BR at regular intervals (e.g., every 6-12 months) to reassess, track changes, and adjust treatment plans.
Citation
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
We're here for you!
Do you have follow-up questions? We're here and happy to help!
Send us an email at help@blueprint-health.com or use the help messenger in the lower right corner to speak with our Support team. 💪🏼