A brief screener for psychotic-like experiences in late adolescence and early adulthood: Psychometric evidence from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study.

Background

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are associated with an increased risk of later psychotic disorders, and brief, reliable screening tools are needed to detect clinically relevant PLEs in community populations. The Adolescent Psychotic-Like Symptom Screener (APSS) was developed for this purpose. A 5-item version has previously demonstrated improved psychometric performance among Chinese adolescents aged 15-17 years. This study examined whether this abbreviated version could be applied to community samples assessed at ages 17, 18, and 19 years.

Methods

Data were drawn from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study, including participants assessed at age 17 (N = 3811), age 18 (N = 4052), and age 19 (N = 8210). Internal consistency, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted separately for each age group to evaluate the psychometric properties of the APSS.

Results

Exploratory factor analyses supported a two-factor structure, with the "mind reading" and "TV/radio broadcasting" items loading separately from the remaining items. Removal of these items yielded a 5-item version comprising spying, auditory hallucinations, controlled experiences, visual hallucinations, and grandiosity. The APSS-5 demonstrated improved internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.708, 0.711, and 0.809 at ages 17, 18, and 19 years, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the structural validity of the APSS-5 in all age groups.

Conclusions

The APSS-5 demonstrated sound psychometric properties in community samples of adolescents and young adults aged 17-19 years. The findings support its use as a brief screening instrument for assessing PLEs in community settings. Future studies are needed to evaluate its predictive validity for psychotic outcomes.