Personality Across the Lifespan: Exploring Measurement Invariance of a Short Big Five Inventory From Ages 11 to 84

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

  • Naemi Brandt
  • Michael Becker
  • Julia Tetzner
  • Martin Brunner
  • Poldi Kuhl
  • Kai Maaz
Personality is a relevant predictor for important life outcomes across the entire lifespan. Although previous studies have suggested the comparability of the measurement of the Big Five personality traits across adulthood, the generalizability to childhood is largely unknown. The present study investigated the structure of the Big Five personality traits assessed with the Big Five Inventory-SOEP Version (BFI-S; SOEP = Socio-Economic Panel) across a broad age range spanning 11–84 years. We used two samples of N = 1,090 children (52% female, Mage = 11.87) and N = 18,789 adults (53% female, Mage = 51.09), estimating a multigroup CFA analysis across four age groups (late childhood: 11–14 years; early adulthood: 17–30 years; middle adulthood: 31–60 years; late adulthood: 61–84 years). Our results indicated the comparability of the personality trait metric in terms of general factor structure, loading patterns, and the majority of intercepts across all age groups. Therefore, the findings suggest both a reliable assessment of the Big Five personality traits with the BFI-S even in late childhood and a vastly comparable metric across age groups.
OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftEuropean Journal of Psychological Assessment
Jahrgang36
Ausgabenummer1
Seiten (von - bis)162-173
Anzahl der Seiten12
ISSN1015-5759
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.2020

DOI