Investigating the Hierarchical Factor Structure of the Fifth Edition of the 16PF: an Application of the Schmid-Leiman Orthogonalization Procedure

Abstract

Two issues regarding the factor structure of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) Fifth Edition were investigated: (a) unidimensionality of the 16 noncognitive scales and (b) hierarchical factor structure of the inventory. The Schmid and Leiman orthogonalization procedure was applied to obtain a hierarchical factor solution in which multi-item composites were mapped directly onto first- and second-order orthogonal factors while simultaneously illustrating the relative positions of factors in the hierarchy. Unidimensionality was assessed using modified parallel analysis. The results indicated that the noncognitive multi-item composites could be factored into 16 first-order and 5 second-order orthogonal factors.