Syndromes of psychosis and nonpsychosis: Factor analysis of a systems analysis.

Factor analyzed the ratings of 924 psychotic and nonpsychotic patients on the Boston City Hospital-Behavior Checklist, a 100-item behavior rating scale derived from a recent systems analysis of traditional psychiatric diagnostic procedures. The Biomedical Computer Program BMDX72 was used to factor the matrix of intercorrelations, with 13 factors being defined by an oblique rotation. Discussion of results centers on the degree to which the present factors define dimensions of psychopathology similar to those defined by other analyses of symptom data. The value of factor analysis as a means of assessing the validity of traditional psychiatric syndromes is also discussed. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)