Linguistic equivalence, internal consistency, and factor structure of the Telugu version of the PRIME Screen-Revised, a tool to screen individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis

Background: Research from India studying individuals at high risk of psychosis is deemed necessary. The Prevention through Risk Identification, Management, and Education (PRIME) Screen-Revised (PS-R) is a commonly used tool to screen individuals at high risk of psychosis. We aimed to translate PS-R into Telugu and assess the linguistic equivalence, reliability (internal consistency), and factor structure of the PS-R, administered in a community youth sample. Methodology: PS-R was translated to Telugu by the standard “forward-translation-back-translation” method, and linguistic equivalence was assessed in 20 bilingual youth by Haccoun’s technique. Data for assessing reliability and factor structure were collected using a community-based household study conducted in the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district of Telangana. Two villages from a rural area, Bommalaramaram, and two wards from an urban area, Bhongir, were chosen. Data from 613 (387 rural and 226 urban) youth aged 15–24 years were included in the analysis. Spearman–Brown coefficient was calculated as a measure of split-half reliability. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to measure its factor structure. Results: Linguistic equivalence was statistically confirmed using inter-version correlation coefficients. Spearman–Brown reliability coefficient was 0.774. Principal component analysis showed that 12 scale items were significantly loaded by 3 latent factors with eigenvalues of 3.105, 1.223, and 1.08, respectively. Factor solution showed that 6, 3, and 2 items correlated with the three factors, respectively. Conclusions: We conclude that the Telugu version of the PS-R is fairly reliable and valid for screening individuals at high risk for psychosis among community youth. The three factors represent “positive symptoms of schizophrenia and distress,” “positive schizotypy,” and “apophenia and magical foretelling.”