Abstract

CARVALHO, Lucas de Francisco; NUNES, Maiana Farias Oliveira; PRIMI, Ricardo  and  NUNES, Carlos Henrique Sancineto da Silva. Unfavorable evidence for personality assessment with a 10-item instrument. Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto) [online]. 2012, vol.22, n.51, pp. 63-71. ISSN 0103-863X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-863X2012000100008.

This study analyzes the internal structure, precision and differences of averages by gender and age on a 10-item scale, designed to assess the Big Five Personality traits. A total of 404 high school students, with an average age of 15.9 years, from São Paulo, Brazil participated in the study. The Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) scale is comprised of pairs of adjectives representing personality traits arranged on a Likert scale varying from 1 to 7, measuring levels of agreement. It was not possible to identify the five-factor solution through analysis of the main components, but a three-factor structure was found that encompassed the content of social desirability, adjustment problems, and emotional stability, with the alpha varying from 0.41 to 0.63. Additionally, statistically significant differences associated with age were found. Results are discussed in terms of the study and scale limitations.

Keywords : Personality Measures; Psychological Assessment; Adolescents; Personality Traits.