A Short Version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-20): Evidence on Construct Validity

Abstract

Several measures were developed in the past decades to measure personality, focusing on the Big Five Factor Model (BFFM; Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism). Despite the relevance of their findings in different countries, a shared limitation of such measures is their length, demanding time from researchers and participants, which might cause boredom or fatigue, biasing the final results. This research aimed to provide a shorter version for the 44-Item Big Five Inventory (BFI), through two studies (NTotal = 8,119). The structure was assessed using a range of techniques (e.g., PAF analysis, Procrustes rotation). The best 20 items (4 per factor) were chosen to compose the final version of the BFI-20, which presented suitable psychometric evidences across the samples. Thus, due the growing need for shorter measures without losing their psychometric quality, our findings indicate the adequacy of the 20-item BFI and its potential applicability in research context.

Depression, Anxiety, Body Dissatisfaction, and Eating Disorders in Plastic Surgery Patients

“…The plastic surgeon must also promote a relationship of trust with the patient, by taking into account the psychological state of the patients, an empathetic and assertive relationship allows patients to be more receptive to recommendations for the care of their physical and mental health. 6–17…”

“…Therefore, it is necessary to promote effective and assertive communication in the doctor/patient relationship, clarify what plastic surgery entails before and after the procedure, and educate on what can realistically be achieved physically in the patient’s body to avoid conflicts with their over-expectations and misconceptions about the operation. 6–17…”

Relationship between psychopathy, personality and human values in a prison sample

“…2) Big Five-Factor Personality Inventory: initially adapted for Brazil by Andrade (2008) with evidence of validity based on the internal structure, a brief 20-item version was used, as adapted by Gouveia et al (2021). The tool evaluates personality according to the big five factors.…”

Preliminary validity for the Big Five Inventory-2 in Brazilian adults

“…Another interesting aspect is that short versions of personality inventories are useful in contexts in which different instruments are applied, or in situations where to it is not possible to respond to many items, as in the case of some older adults. The instruments that evaluate the FFM currently available to psychologists are composed of many items, for example, the Revised Neo Personality Inventory, with 240 items, and the Factorial Personality Battery (FPB), with 126 items; although the current effort by researchers to develop short scales for personality assessment (Gouveia et al, 2021;Laros et al, 2018;Passos & Laros, 2015). Therefore, considering the number of items and facets, the BFI-2 is different from the Neo PI-R and the FPB, as it allows the evaluation of 15 facets of personality through only 60 items, even though some of its facets present reliability below the minimum recommended.…”

“…Short versions of personality inventories are useful in contexts in which the application of various instruments occurs (Sleep, Lynam, & Miller, 2020), or in case where it is not possible to respond to many items, as in the case of some older adults. Thus, there has been an extensive effort by researchers to address this issue and develop short scales for personality assessment (Gouveia et al, 2021;Laros et al, 2018;Passos & Laros, 2015). These instruments are also relevant in research involving the differentiation of groups with large samples (as in large scale assessments), in which the objective is not to evaluate individuals, but groups of people.…”