Religiosity, psychoticism, and schizotypal traits

In the present study we investigated the relationship between scores on the Francis Scale of Attitudes towards Christianity [FSAC (Francis & Stubbs, Personality and Individual Differences, 8, 741–743, 1987)], Eysenckʹs Personality Questionnaire [EPQ (Eysenck & Eysenck, Manual of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, 1975)], Eckblad and Chapmanʹs Magical Ideation Scale [MgI (Eckblad & Chapman, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 215–225, 1983)], and Claridgeʹs STQ (Claridge & Broks, Personality and Individual Differences, 5, 633–648, 1984). A first Principal Components Analysis with the FSAC and the EPQ confirmed previous work which has shown a negative association between religiosity and psychoticism. A second Principal Components Analysis with all scales yielded a four factor solution: 1. (1) aberrant perceptions and beliefs;2. (2) social anxiety and suspiciousness;3. (3) asociality and low religiosity; and4. (4) social desirability. Some evidence is also presented for an association between higher religiosity and higher scores on unusual perceptual experiences in men although not in women. Implications for the assessment of religiosity in future research are discussed.