Abstract
The Boundary Questionnaire (BQ) of Ernest Hartmann measures individual differences in the “thinness” of the mental boundaries presumed to separate the contents of consciousness. We report a study in which 300 undergraduates completed the 145-item BQ. Their scores were factor analyzed using Maximum Likelihood factor analysis followed by Promax rotation. Seven substantially uncorrelated factors emerged from the rotation. Subsequent analyses aimed at developing an empirically-derived short version of the questionnaire (abbreviated BQ-Sh) produced six subscales labeled Unusual Experiences, Need for Order, Trust, Perceived Competence, Childlikeness, and Sensitivity, with the Trust subscale omitted from calculation of the total score. Subscales of the 46-item BQ-Sh varied in reliability (alpha) from .80 to .65. It had a full-scale reliability of .74 and correlated strongly with the original BQ (r = .88). It is compared with an alternative, rationally-derived short version with which it showed a correlation of .77.
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