Psychometric properties of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory for Children and Adolescents (TIPI-CA) in a Spanish sample

Abstract

BackgroundThe Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) is a non-commercial very brief Five-Factor Model (FFM) measure widely em-ployed in research. Its use has been extended to children and adolescents, without exploring the suitability of its employ-ment for these early ages. The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of an adaptation of this ques-tionnaire (the Ten-Item Personality Inventory for Children and Adolescents, TIPI-CA).Participants and procedureThe sample comprised 2428 children and adolescents (Mage = 12.65, SD = 2.41, 47.16% girls). The psychometric properties of the TIPI-CA were explored in terms of factor validity (including measurement invariance across gender), as well as conver-gent and divergent validities in a subsample of 800 participants (Mage = 12.50, SD = 1.96, 49.1% girls). Furthermore, criterion validity was also tested by exploring associations with prosocial behavior and psychopathological problems in another sub-sample of 618 participants (Mage = 11.97, SD = 2.70, 53.2% girls). Finally, internal consistency and temporal stability were estimated too.ResultsThe TIPI-CA presented reasonably appropriate psychometric properties, although weaker discriminant validity was found among children and adolescents compared to TIPI adult versions.ConclusionsThe instrument emerges as a useful tool to obtain a suitable approximation of the Big Five personality trait measures when time and/or space are scarce at early and young ages.