AUTHOR=Bajraktarov Stojan , Blazhevska Stoilkovska Biljana , Russo Manuela , Repišti Selman , Maric Nadja P. , Dzubur Kulenovic Alma , Arënliu Aliriza , Stevovic Lidija Injac , Novotni Ljubisha , Ribic Emina , Konjufca Jon , Ristic Ivan , Novotni Antoni , Jovanovic Nikolina TITLE=Factor structure of the brief psychiatric rating scale-expanded among outpatients with psychotic disorders in five Southeast European countries: evidence for five factors JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=14 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1207577 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1207577 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is a useful tool for measuring the severity of psychopathological symptoms among patients with psychosis. Many studies, predominantly in Western countries, have investigated its factor structure. This study has the following aims: (a) to further explore the factor structure of the BPRS-Expanded version (BPRS-E, 24 items) among outpatients with psychotic disorders in Southeast European countries; (b) to confirm the identified model; and (c) to investigate the goodness-of-fit of the three competing BPRS-E factor models derived from previous studies. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) produced a solution with 21 items grouped into five factors, thus supporting the existence of a fifth factor, i.e., Disorganization. A follow-up confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed a 19-item model (with two items removed) that fit the data well. In addition, the stability of two out of three competing factor models was confirmed. Finally, the BPRS-E model with 5 factors developed in this cross-national study was found to include a greater number of items compared to competing models.