Cognitive Therapy and Research, VoL 19, No. 3, 1995, pp. 295.321 The Schema Questionnaire: Investigation of Psychometric Properties and the Hierarchical Structure of a Measure of Maladaptive Schemas I Norman B. Schmidt 2 and Thomas E. Joiner, Jr. The University of Texas at Austin Jeffery E. Young Columbia University Michael J. Telch The University of Texas at Austin Although schemas play a central role in c o ~ i t ~ conceptualizations of personali~ disorders, research devoted to the assessment of schemas has been scarce. This article describes the preliminary validation of a measure of schemas relevant to personality disorders. The Schema Questionnaire (SQ) was developed using five independent samples (N = 1,564). In study 1, factor analyses using a student sample revealed 13 primary schemas. A hierarchicalfactor analysis revealed three higher-orderfactors. In study 2, factor anaOrses using a patient sample revealed 15 primary schemas. The patient and student samples produced similar sets of primaq factors which also closely matched the rationally developed schemas and their hypothesized hierarchicalrelationships (Youn~ 1991). The primary subscales were found to possess adequate test-retest reliability and internal consistency. In study 3, the SQ was found to possess convergent and discriminant validity with respect to measures of psychological distress, self-esteem, cognitive vulnerab'dity for depression, and personality disorder symptoms. KEY WORDS: schema; personality disorder; questionnaire validation; cognitive vulnerabifity. 1The authors would llke to thank Dr. Jane Rigg for her assistance in data collection. 2Address all correspondence concerning this article to Norman B. Schmidt, Department of Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. 295 0147-5916/95/0600.02~$07.50/0 0 1995 Plenum PublishingCorporation