The Boundary Questionnaire: Its Preliminary Reliability and Validity

Abstract

The Boundary Questionnaire was developed to measure boundaries between various aspects of psychological experience: between primary process and secondary process thinking; between internal and external experiences; and between loose vs. organized ways of arranging ideas and opinions. A reliable 138-item scale was developed. All 138 items loaded positively on the first principal component, supporting the generality of the boundary concept. The items were then analyzed into 12 factors, each of which measured a different aspect of boundary thin-ness. Factor scores differentiated between theoretically thin groups (nightmare sufferers and art students), and a theoretically thick group of Naval officers. Many of the factor scores correlated with frequency of dream recall, and with various MMPI scales. The questionnaire promises to be useful in the study of a wide variety of boundary phenomena.