Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan;29(1):46-61.
doi: 10.1177/10731911211015355. Epub 2021 May 28.

Development of the Thought Disorder Measure for the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology

David C Cicero  1 , Katherine G Jonas  2 , Michael Chmielewski  3 , Elizabeth A Martin  4 , Anna R Docherty  5 , Jonathan Berzon  2 , John D Haltigan  6 , Ulrich Reininghaus  7 , Avshalom Caspi  8   9 , Rachael G Graziolplene  10 , Roman Kotov  2
Affiliations

Development of the Thought Disorder Measure for the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology

David C Cicero et al. Assessment. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology consortium aims to develop a comprehensive self-report measure to assess psychopathology dimensionally. The current research describes the initial conceptualization, development, and item selection for the thought disorder spectrum and related constructs from other spectra. The thought disorder spectrum is defined primarily by the positive and disorganized traits and symptoms of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. The Thought Disorder Sub-Workgroup identified and defined 16 relevant constructs and wrote 10 to 15 items per each construct. These items were administered, along with detachment and mania items, to undergraduates and people with serious mental illness. Three hundred and sixty-five items across 25 scales were administered. An exploratory factor analysis of the scale scores suggested a two-factor structure corresponding to positive and negative symptoms for two samples. The mania scales loaded with the positive factor, while the detachment scales loaded with the negative factor. Item-level analyses resulted in 19 preliminary scales, including 215 items that cover the range of thought disorder pathology, and will be carried forward for the next phase of data collection/analysis.

Keywords: confirmatory factor analysis; exploratory factor analysis; psychosis; schizophrenia; schizotypal personality; schizotypy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The placement of the thought disorder spectrum and psychosis superspectrum within the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Flow chart of item conceptualization, development, and selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Andreasen NC (1979). Thought, language, and communication disorders: I. Clinical assessment, definition of terms, and evaluation of their reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36(12), 1315–1321. 10.1001/archpsyc.1979.01780120045006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andreasen NC (1982). Scale for the assessment of positive symptoms. University of Iowa, Department of Psychiatry.
    1. Andreasen NC (1984). Scale for the assessment of negative symptoms. University of Iowa College of Medicine.
    1. Andreasen NC, & Olsen S. (1982). Negative v positive schizophrenia. Definition and validation. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39(7), 789–794. 10.1001/arch-psyc.1982.04290070025006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ashton MC, Lee K, de Vries RE, Hendrickse J, & Born MP (2012). The maladaptive personality traits of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) in relation to the HEXACO personality factors and schizotypy/dissociation. Journal of Personality Disorders, 26(5), 641–659. 10.1521/pedi.2012.26.5.641 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types