Efficient and valid assessment of personality traits: population norms of a brief version of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI)

Annett Korner1 Zofia Czajkowska1 Cornelia Albani2 Martin Drapeau1 Michael Geyer3 Elmar Braehler2,4: 1McGill University, Counselling Psychology Program, Canada; 2Medical Center of the University of Leipzig, Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Germany: 3Academy of Psychotherapy, Erfurt, Germany; 4Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Corespondence email: annett.korner@mcgill.ca Personality characteristics have been shown to be robust correlates and predictors of behavioural problems, coping strategies and psychiatric disorders [1]. Personality functioning predicts the frequency of the exposure to various kinds of stressors as it affects the appraisal of events as well as the perception of one’s coping resources [2]. Research as well as clinical practice benefits from taking personality variables into account when designing and delivering psychotherapeutic interventions and psychiatric treatment regimes for mental disorders [1]. This requires sound personality models as well as valid and feasible assessment instruments. The Five-Factor Model (FFM) is a well-established paradigm for the conceptualisation of human personality, described in terms of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness [3]. The model provides a valuable framework for the Summary Aims: The NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), a well-established 60-item questionnaire based on the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, provides a valuable framework for the interdisciplinary approach to personality research and clinical practice. In response to the need for briefer personality measures, a 30-item version of the NEO-FFI (NEO-FFI-30) was developed and its factor structure replicated. Method: The study examines the psychometric quality of NEO-FFI-30 and provides population-based norms (n=1908 adults). Reliability coefficients, kurtosis, skewness, correlations and effect sizes illustrate the psychometric properties of the measure. Results: The relationships between neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness and sociodemographic characteristics confirm previous research findings and speak to the validity of the brief version. Namely, women report higher neuroticism and agreeableness. Younger individuals indicate more extraversion but less agreeableness and conscientiousness. Finally, openness to experience was related to higher education. Percentile ranks are provided for the total sample and for subgroups by age and gender. Conclusions: The 30-item-version of the NEO-FFI constitutes an assessment tool comparable with the full-length instrument with regard to its psychometric properties. As such, the NEO-FFI-30 is a promising alternative to longer questionnaires, as well as to single-item measures of personality used in research and clinical practice.