EXTENDED REPORTS The Psychometric Detection of Schizotypy: Do Putative Schizotypy Indicators Identify the Same Latent Class?

class or taxon as conceptualized by P. E. Meehl (1962, 1990). The separate and joint latent structures of these scales were evaluated using taxometric methods in two large, independent samples. Replicating prior findings, the RSAS and PAS each identified latent taxa with base rates approximating.10. Results for the taxonicity of the MIS were less consistent. Analyses of joint latent structure indicated that the RSAS-identified taxon was essentially independent of constructs measured by the PAS or MIS. Measures commonly thought to tap the same latent class, conjectured to be schizotypy, do not share this property. The accurate identification of individuals prone to the development of schizophrenia is key to the study of environmental and biological factors that heighten or reduce the probability of developing schizophrenia-related disorders. One strategy for identifying schizophrenia-prone individuals is the psychometric high-risk para-digm (for reviews, see J. P. Chapman & Chapman, 1996; Grove, 1982). In this approach, personality characteristics thought to be associated with risk for the development of schizophrenia are mea-sured with self-report questionnaires. Much of this research has bee