Paranoid Tendencies Scale: Development and Establishment of Psychometric Properties in Young Adults

Paranoid tendencies refer to the exaggerated suspiciousness and difficulty in building relationships with trust. In this research, paranoid tendencies of young adults were explored and psychometric properties were established in two studies. In study I, a phenomenological approach was used to extract key components of paranoid tendencies from 20 young adults aged 18-24 years (M = 20.05; SD = 1.06) in phase I. In phase II, Content validity was established. In phase III pilot testing was done on 20 young adults (50% Men and 50% Women). A sample of 200 young adults aged 18-24 years (M = 20.8; SD = 1.68) were tested for psychometric properties of the Paranoid Tendencies Scale using the Quality of Relationship Inventory (Pierce et al, 1991) and Paranoid Thought Scale (Freeman et al, 2019). The result of exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors of paranoid tendencies scale named as Interpersonal Mistrust, Poor Self-image and Social Isolation. In study II, Confirmatory factor analysis verified the three factored Paranoid Tendencies Scale on the sample of 250 young adults (M= 20, SD = 1.70) Overall, the scale was found to have good internal consistency (α=.93), construct validity (0.87), discriminant validity (0.52), and split half reliability (0.89) along with the significant gender differences in experiencing paranoid tendencies.