Construction of an abbreviated five factor personality scale

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to verify evidence of the score validity and score reliability of a new reduced instrument assessing the big five personality factors using a semantic differential scale. A set of 47 items was elaborated and administered to a sample of 365 university students of the Federal District in Brazil, with a mean age of 29.1 years (SD=8.6), 53.7% being women. The five factor model of personality was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Since the initial model with all 47 items did not exhibit an adequate fit to the data, 20 items were excluded on basis of factor loadings and modification indices. The final model consisting of 20 items showed a good fit to the data. The five factors showed reliability coefficients ranging from 0.71 to 0.85. The results of this study show satisfactory validity and reliability evidence of the new instrument in the investigated sample.