[Factorial Structure of the Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale (CAPS) in a Colombian Population Sample].

Background: The continuum hypothesis of psychosis assumes that hallucinations are not exclusive of psychotic disorders. A number of psychometric tests have been developed to assess psychosis using a dimensional model.

Objectives: To determine the factorial structure of the Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale (CAPS) for the Colombian population, and to contrast the fit of two factor models previously reported in the literature by conducting a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which 207 subjects from the general population were assessed using the Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale.

Results: A two-factor structure with acceptable ordinal alpha coefficients (α=.88 and α=.87) was found. One factor gathered items related to multimodal perceptual alterations, and a second factor grouped items related with experiences linked to the temporal lobe. The analysis of the first factor indicated that it was dependent on cultural issues for the interpretation of sensations. The second factor appeared almost unchanged on diverse populations, suggesting its transcultural character. When comparing the models proposed by Bell et al. and Jaen-Moreno et al. using the data obtained from the sample, the confirmatory factor analysis conducted indicated inadequate goodness-of-fit indexes (χ(2)). However, some incremental goodness-of-fit indexes (normalized χ(2) [RMSEA]) were acceptable. The Jaén-Moreno et al. model showed the best fit to the data collected from the Colombian sample.

Conclusions: The factorial structure of CAPS for the Colombian population appears to be sensitive to cultural issues, especially when describing anomalous sensorial experiences.