Objectives: Screening for personality dysfunction is relevant to treatment planning in psychotherapy, psychosomatic medicine and psychiatry. This makes short versions of field-tested approaches such as the OPD Structure Questionnaire (OPD-SQ) necessary.
Methods: With the aim of developing a screening version, the original sample of the OPD-SQ was divided into two subsamples. After developing a preliminary 12-item version in one subsample, we used confirmatory factor-analysis in the second subsample as well as an independent sample to test the factor structure.
Results: The analyses confirmed a structure of three correlating factors with adequate fit indices. Other findings relating to the validity of the long version were replicated as well. In addition, data from an independent sample of psychotherapy inpatients confirmed the factor structure and provided further evidence for its validity.
Conclusions: The OPD-SQS is a viable screening instrument for supporting clinical decision making in stepped-care approaches in psychotherapy, psychosomatic medicine and psychiatry.
Keywords: DSM; Levels of Personality Functioning; OPD; Personality Disorders; Questionnaire.