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Schizophr Res. 2011 June ; 129(1): 42–46. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2011.03.029.

Psychosis Risk Screening with the Prodromal Questionnaire –

Brief version (PQ-B)
Rachel L. Loewy1, Rahel Pearson1, Sophia Vinogradov1,2, Carrie E. Bearden3,4, and Tyrone
D. Cannon3,4
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

2San Francisco Department of Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA

3Department Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los
Angeles, CA.
4Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.

Abstract
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In this study, we examined the preliminary concurrent validity of a brief version of the Prodromal
Questionnaire (PQ-B), a self-report screening measure for psychosis risk syndromes. Adolescents
and young adults (N=141) who presented consecutively for clinical assessment to one of two early
psychosis research clinics at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Los Angeles
completed the PQ-B and the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) at intake.
Endorsement of three or more positive symptoms on the PQ-B differentiated between those with
prodromal syndrome and psychotic syndrome diagnoses on the SIPS versus those with no SIPS
diagnoses with 89% sensitivity, 58% specificity, and a positive Likelihood Ratio of 2.12. A
Distress Score measuring the distress or impairment associated with endorsed positive symptoms
increased the specificity to 68%, while retaining similar sensitivity of 88%. Agreement was very
similar when participants with psychotic syndromes were excluded from the analyses. These
results suggest that the PQ-B may be used as an effective, efficient self-report screen for
prodromal psychosis syndromes when followed by diagnostic interview, in a two-stage evaluation
process in help-seeking populations.

1. Introduction
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A growing body of research has demonstrated that individuals at “ultra-high-risk” (UHR)

for psychosis can be reliably diagnosed using clinical interviews such as the Structured
Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) (Miller, et al, 2003) and the Comprehensive

© 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Corresponding Author: Rachel L. Loewy, PhD 401 Parnassus Ave. Box 0984-PAR San Francisco, CA 94143-0984 Phone:
415-476-7659 Fax: 415-476-7320 [email protected].
*Conflict of Interest Dr. Cannon is a consultant for Rules-Based Medicine on diagnostic biomarkers for mental disorders. The other
authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Contributors Dr. Loewy held primary responsibility for the study design, data collection, data analysis and manuscript writing. Ms.
Pearson contributed to data analysis and manuscript writing. Dr. Vinogradov served as a senior mentor to Dr. Loewy and contributed
to implementation of the study and manuscript writing. Dr. Bearden supervised data collection at UCLA and contributed to manuscript
writing. Dr. Cannon contributed to the study design, manuscript writing and served as site PI at UCLA.
Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our
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 Loewy et al. Page 2

Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) (Yung, et al, 2005). Individuals

diagnosed with UHR syndromes develop full psychotic disorders at a rate that ranges from
16% to 35% within 2 – 2.5 years (Cannon, et al, 2008; Yung, et al, 2007; Yung, et al.,
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2008). Although these interviews are indispensable in diagnosing prodromal psychosis,

clinicians need specialized training to use them and they take several hours of clinicians’
and patients’ time. Currently, assessment with these instruments is only available in a small
number of specialty clinics around the world.

In order to increase efficiency of identifying psychosis risk, we previously developed the

Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ), a 92 item-self-report measure intended to be used in a two-
stage screening process, followed by prodromal syndrome interviews. In a sample of young
people referred to a prodromal psychosis research clinic, the PQ showed moderate
concurrent validity with SIPS diagnoses, with 90% sensitivity and 49% specificity (Loewy,
et al, 2005).

Recently, we modified the PQ to improve efficiency and accuracy. We focused on only

positive symptom items, as those are the basis for interview-based diagnoses of symptomatic
prodromal syndromes, and we assessed the frequency of each experience and presence of
related distress or impairment. In the general population, psychotic-like experiences can be
present in up to 20% of adults, often in the absence of a full psychotic disorder (Hanssen, et
al, 2003). In that study, risk for later psychotic disorder was four to five times greater when
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individuals were distressed by the psychotic experience compared to those who were not.
Undergraduate students endorsed PQ items at very high rates in our own study, but fewer
endorsed items as distressing or impairing (Loewy, et al, 2007).

Although the ultimate target group for the PQ-B is the general help-seeking population, the
first step of measure development is to assess preliminary validity of the PQ-B in a selected
help-seeking group that is highly “enriched” for the target diagnoses (McGorry, et al, 2003).
In the current study, we administered the PQ-B along with the SIPS to all adolescent and
young adult patients consecutively presenting to two prodromal psychosis research clinics in
California. We hypothesized that: 1) The PQ-B would show good concurrent validity with
symptomatic syndromes on the SIPS, similar to the original PQ and 2) Assessing frequency
of experiences and related distress/impairment would improve specificity of the PQ-B
related to these SIPS diagnoses.

2. Methods
2.1 Participants
Study participants were 141 individuals age 12-35 who presented consecutively for
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evaluation at one of two prodromal psychosis research clinics: the Prodrome Assessment,
Research and Treatment program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
(N=47) and the Staglin Music Festival Center for Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal
States at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (N=94). Subjects were referred
from community clinicians, schools, family members, and self-referred from seeing
information about the programs on the internet. Participants at the two sites did not
significantly differ from each other on any demographic, psychosocial functioning or
diagnostic grouping variables (see Table 1.)

A sample of age-matched healthy control participants (HCs) at both sites were recruited for
comparison to the patient group through advertisements placed on websites and at local
schools. HCs (N=46) were not significantly different from the patient group on age,
ethnicity or socioeconomic status, as measured by years of parental education, but had a
higher proportion of females than the patient group (p=.045). The control subjects at UCLA

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were assigned GAF scores, which were significantly higher than those of the patient group,
as expected (p<.0001). Details of demographic characteristics are presented in Table 1.
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2.2. Measures
2.2a. SIPS—The SIPS is semi-structured interview designed to be administered by trained
clinicians (Miller, et al, 2003). The interview includes a biopsychosocial history and ratings
along four major symptom dimensions on the Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS):
positive, negative, disorganized and general/affective symptoms. The SIPS/SOPS diagnoses
three types of prodromal syndromes, listed in order of typical sample prevalence: 1)
Attenuated Positive Symptom Prodromal Syndrome (APS): Attenuated positive psychotic
symptoms present at least once per week, started or worsened in that past year (unusual
thought content/delusional ideas, suspiciousness/persecutory ideas, grandiosity, perceptual
abnormalities/distortions, and conceptual disorganization; 2) Brief Intermittent Psychosis
Prodromal Syndrome (BIPS): Brief and intermittent fully psychotic symptoms that have
started recently; 3) Genetic Risk and Deterioration Prodromal Syndrome (GRDS): Either a
family history of a psychotic disorder in any first-degree relative and decline of at least 30%
in the past 12 months on the GAF scale, or, meets criteria for schizotypal personality
disorder and has had a decline of 30% on the GAF in the past year.

After SIPS assessment, 44% of subjects were diagnosed with a UHR syndrome, 42% were
diagnosed as being fully psychotic, and 13% received no psychotic-spectrum diagnosis.
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Among UHR subjects, 39 (95%) met APS criteria and two (5%) met BIPS criteria. One
GRDS subject was excluded from analyses, as the PQ-B is intended to capture symptomatic
at-risk syndromes.

2.2b. Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief Version (PQ-B)—The PQ-B was developed

from the original 92-item Prodromal Questionnaire. First, we retained only positive
symptom items, as these constitute the basis for symptomatic UHR diagnoses (APS &
BIPS). Second, we analyzed the original clinic-referred UCLA sample and selected the
positive symptom items with the greatest agreement with SIPS diagnoses. Third, we
removed items endorsed by a large proportion of a general undergraduate university sample,
as these items were assumed to be easily misunderstood and overendorsed (Loewy, et al,
2007). This resulted in 18 positive symptom items, two of which were slightly re-worded for
clarity. We added five more positive symptom items to assess suspiciousness (2 items),
grandiosity (2 items) and disorganized communication (1 item), which were under-
represented on the PQ-B relative to items inquiring about unusual thinking and perceptual
disturbances. Finally, we added one item on social functioning and one item on academic/
occupational functioning. Following each individual item, we included two Likert scale
follow-up questions that had been used previously in the undergraduate sample, inquiring
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about frequency and related distress or impairment. See Appendix A for a copy of the PQ-B
and Appendix B for details on scoring.

2.3. Procedures
Participants or their parents (for subjects age 12-17) completed a brief phone screen prior to
being scheduled for a clinic intake in order to exclude cases of well-established psychosis,
mental retardation, substance dependence, and neurological disorders such as temporal lobe
epilepsy. Upon arrival at the clinic, participants provided informed consent or assent with
parental consent for the study, then completed the PQ-B, followed by the SIPS. Whenever
possible, collateral information was obtained by interviewing parents, significant others and
relevant clinicians.

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A sample of age-matched healthy control participants (HCs) at both sites completed the PQ-
B and the SCID to rule out the presence of current Axis I diagnoses. Healthy control
subjects at UCLA (N=26) also completed the SIPS.
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Clinical interviewers at both sites were MA, PhD or MD- level clinicians who underwent a
standard training procedure. Inter-rater reliability was excellent at both sites; ICCs for UCSF
staff were 0.94 for SIPS diagnoses and 0.70 to 0.97 for SOPS ratings. All ICCs were above
0.80 at UCLA. Participant diagnoses were discussed in regular reliability rounds to limit
rater drift. All study procedures were approved by the human subjects review committees at
UCSF and UCLA.

2.4. Statistical Analyses

Subjects with more than 6 items left unanswered on the PQ-B were excluded from the
analyses (N=6; 4%). Next, remaining missing data were coded as no (0), based on informal
questioning of patients across several studies of the PQ, which suggested that blank items
nearly always indicated that participants had not experienced that symptom. Missing data for
frequency and distress were also coded as 0, in accordance with how the measure would be
used in actual practice. Distributions of PQ-B and SIPS scores were examined for violations
of normality assumptions. All scores were skewed towards 0, as expected, and therefore
non-parametric statistics were calculated as necessary.
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Agreement between PQ-B scores and SIPS diagnoses was used to assess concurrent validity
by generating receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calculating areas under the
curve (AUCs). Values for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative
predictive value and likelihood ratios were computed. Correlation analyses were performed
between PQ-B scores and SOPS positive symptom scores using Spearman’s correlation
coefficient. Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was used to examine internal consistency of the
PQ-B. The Kruskal-Wallis test is a non-parametric rank test that was used to compare PQ-B
scores across the three SIPS diagnostic groups (no SIPS diagnosis, prodromal syndrome,
psychotic syndrome). When significant differences were detected across groups, post-hoc
Mann-Whitney U tests then examined paired group contrasts.

3. Results
3.a. Concurrent validity of Prodromal/psychotic versus no SIPS diagnosis
All PQ-B scores predicted SIPS diagnoses of prodromal/psychotic syndromes versus no
SIPS diagnosis with statistically significantly AUC values. The two functioning items did
not improve prediction above and beyond the 23 positive symptom items. Furthermore, only
3 of the 5 positive symptom items that were added to the original 18 items (which emerged
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from the analyses described in section 2.2b above) provided additional predictive power
above and beyond the 18 items. Therefore, the Total, Distress and Frequency scores were
calculated using only the 21 positive symptom items. Content of the items on the measure
that were excluded from scoring are included in Appendix B, along with scoring details.

A Total Score of 3 or more endorsed items balanced the greatest sensitivity (89%) with the
greatest specificity (58%) and had a positive Likelihood Ratio of 2.12. Comparatively, the
Frequency score lost substantial sensitivity, while the Distress score heightened specificity.
Table 2 presents the cutoff values and accuracy of the PQ-B scores that showed the most
agreement with SIPS symptomatic syndromes. Compared to the Total and Frequency scores,
the Distress score with a cutoff of 6 or more showed the greatest specificity (68%) while
retaining high sensitivity (88%); its performance was very similar when fully psychotic
patients were excluded from the analysis. The Distress Score cutoff of 6 or more showed
similar sensitivity across sites (87-90%) with some variation in specificity (63-73%),

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although all scores overlapped within their 95% confidence intervals. Figure 1 compares the
ROC curves for the best-performing scores.
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3.b. Internal consistency and concurrent validity

Total Score on the PQ-B was significantly correlated with all SIPS/SOPS scores at the level
of p<.0001 (two-tailed, no correction for multiple comparisons), including positive
symptoms (r=0.65), negative symptoms (r=0.50), disorganized symptoms (r=0.59), and
general symptoms (r=0.60). The Distress Score was also significantly correlated with all
SIPS/SOPS scores at the level of p<.0001 (two-tailed, no correction for multiple
comparisons), including positive symptoms (r=0.60), negative symptoms (r=0.52),
disorganized symptoms (r=0.59), and general/affective symptoms (r=0.65). Cronbach’s
alpha for the Total score was 0.853. Finally, Kruskal-Wallis tests showed significant
differences of PQ-B scores across SIPS/SOPS diagnostic groups for both the Total Score
(p< .0001), and the Distress Score (p<.0001). Post-hoc paired contrasts revealed that Total
Scores were significantly lower in the group with no SIPS diagnosis compared to the
prodromal syndrome group (p<.0001) and psychotic group (p<.0001), but the prodromal and
psychotic groups did not significantly differ from each other (p=.091). Similarly, the
Distress Scores were significantly lower in the group with no SIPS diagnosis as compared to
the prodromal syndrome group (p<.0001), and psychotic group (p<.0001), but the prodromal
and psychotic groups did not significantly differ from each other (p=.10). Figures 3 and 4
show the mean PQ-B scores and their distributions across groups.
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3.c. Healthy controls

Six subjects out of 46 healthy control participants (13%) scored above the PQ-B Total Score
cutoff of 3 or more endorsed items; the highest score amongst control subjects was seven.
Five of these subjects (11%) also scored above the cutoff of 6 or more on the Distress Score.
Five of the six Total Score high-scorers were seen at UCLA and none of them received a
psychotic or prodromal syndrome diagnosis on the SIPS. Healthy controls at UCSF did not
receive the SIPS.

4. Discussion
Overall, the PQ-B showed good preliminary concurrent validity with interview-based SIPS
diagnoses in our help-seeking sample of adolescents and young adults. It effectively
differentiated between participants with SIPS diagnoses of prodromal and psychotic
syndromes versus non-psychotic spectrum patients. The brief version of the PQ maintained
the sensitivity of the original, while adding questions about related distress and impairment
that improved specificity. However, assessing frequency of experiences or asking about
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functioning was not additionally helpful. The false-positive rate of 11% when using the
Distress Score in the healthy control group suggests that performance of the PQ-B is similar
across samples; however, this rate would result in a great number of interviews if screening
large samples. Taking these results altogether, we recommend only using the PQ-B in help-
seeking samples, especially with those individuals who are already suspected to have
attenuated psychotic symptoms.

As discussed previously (Loewy, et al, 2005), this instrument is designed to function as the
first step in a two-stage screening process that relies on clinician interview to obtain a
diagnosis. Therefore, PQ-B users should be careful not to equate a high score with
prodromal psychosis or unavoidable development of schizophrenia. In order to minimize
unnecessary stigma and distress that may be associated with the diagnosis of a an attenuated
psychosis syndrome (Yang, et al., 2010), we recommend discussing results in light of the

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need for a more thorough clinical interview and the importance of early detection and
intervention in improving long term outcomes (Corcoran, et al., 2010).
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In order for the PQ-B to be used in a general help-seeking population, future studies should
assess concurrent validity of the two-stage screening process and in a general mental health
sample. The results of the current study suggest that pursuing such a study is warranted. We
have an ongoing study tracking 2-year outcomes of the SIPS-positive participants, to assess
predictive validity of the PQ-B. Pending the outcome of future studies in unselected
samples, we hope that the PQ-B can be used to increase access to care for help-seeking
youth whose attenuated psychotic symptoms might otherwise go unnoticed or misdiagnosed.

Supplementary Material
Refer to Web version on PubMed Central for supplementary material.

Acknowledgments
Role of the Funding Source This work was supported by a Young Investigator award from the National Alliance
for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) and NIH grant K23 MH086618 to Dr. Loewy; a gift
from the Lazslo N. Tauber Family Foundation to Dr. Vinogradov; and NIH Grants MH65079 and P50 MH066286
to Dr. Cannon. Additional support was provided by gifts to the UCLA Foundation by Garen and Shari Staglin and
the International Mental Health Research Organization. The funding sources had no further role in study design; in
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the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the
paper for publication.

We would like to thank Ashley Lee, Tara Niendam and Danielle Schlosser for their assistance in coordinating this
project, and the reviewers for their thoughtful comments on the manuscript.

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Figure 1.
Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of PQ-B scores predicting SIPS diagnosis of
prodromal/psychotic syndrome versus no SIPS diagnosis.
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Figure 2.
PQ-B scores of Total symptoms endorsed by SIPS diagnostic group.
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Figure 3.
PQ-B scores of weighted Distress by SIPS diagnostic group.
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Table 1
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the samples.

UCLA UCSF HCs

(N= 94) (N= 47) (N=46) F or χ2 p
Loewy et al.

M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)

Age (years, +/−SD) 18.7 (4.8) 19.2 (5.3) 19.1 (3.5) 0.14 0.87

Highest Parental
5.2 (1.9)1 5.5 (1.8)1 5.5 (2.0)1 0.59 0.56
Education

GAF 42 (14) 46 (9) 83 (10)3 126 <.0001*

Male 55 (59%) 30 (64%) 19 (41%) 6.2 0.045*4

Caucasian 2 44 (47%) 23 (49%) 22 (49%) 11.43 0.33

UHR 37 (39%) 25 (53%)

Psychotic 46 (49%) 14 (29%) N/A 4.72 0.09

No SIPS Diagnosis 11 (12%) 8 (17%)

1
Hollingshead Index, means here are equivalent to Bachelor’s degree;
2
UCLA had a greater proportion of Hispanic/Latino participants than UCSF;
3
GAF scores available for UCLA control subjects only (N=27);
4
Post-hoc contracts showed that controls had significantly fewer males than the UCSF patient group;
*
Statistically significant at p<.05.

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Table 2
Classification accuracy of PQ-B scores versus SIPS diagnosis of prodromal/psychotic syndrome versus no SIPS diagnosis.

PQ-B Cutoff Sample Sensitivity Specificity PPVa NPVa LR+a AUCa 95% CI p
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Total Sample
Total Score ≥ 1 96% 16% 88% 38% 1.14 0.78 0.70 – 0.84 0.0001
(N=141)

Total Sample
Total Score ≥ 3 89% 58% 93% 46% 2.12 0.78 0.70 – 0.84 0.0001
(N=141)

Total Sample
Total Score ≥ 6 31% 100% 100% 18% --- 0.78 0.70 – 0.84 0.0001
(N=141)

Total Sample
Distress Score ≥ 4 93% 58% 93% 55% 2.20 0.78 0.70 – 0.84 0.0001
(N=141)

Total Sample
Distress Score ≥ 6 88% 68% 95% 50% 2.83 0.78 0.70 – 0.84 0.0001
(N=141)

Total Sample
Distress Score ≥ 32 32% 95% 98% 18% 6.07 0.78 0.70 – 0.84 0.0001
(N=141)
No Psychotic
85% 68% 90% 59% 2.71 0.76 0.66 – 0.85 0.0001
Subjects (N=82)

UCSF
Distress Score ≥ 6 90% 63% 92% 56% 2.39 0.80 0.66 – 0.90 0.0001
(N=47)

UCLA
87% 73% 96% 42% 3.18 0.77 0.68 - 0.85 0.0001
(N=94)

a
PPV = Positive predictive value, NPV = Negative predictive value, LR+= positive likelihood ratio, AUC= Area Under the Curve

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