Development of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory

Abstract

A combined "emic-etic" approach was adopted to develop an indigenous omnibus personality inventory for the Chinese people. The Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI) consists of constructs selected specifically in consideration of the Chinese culture as well as scales covering personality constructs commonly found in English-language psychological tests. Preliminary results confirmed the robust structure of the scales related to Chinese tradition among random samples of subjects in the People's Republic of China and in Hong Kong. This article reports the psychometric properties of the CPAI. It also outlines the steps in the construction of the CPAI, which adapted personality assessment methods used in Western countries for developing a culturally relevant instrument in a non-Western culture. The methodology provides an example for the development of indigenous personality inventories in other non-Western cultures.