Eysenck Personality Questionnaire – Revised Short Form Neuroticism Factors and Five-Factor Model Domains and Facets

Abstract

Variance in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Short Form’s (EPQ-RS) Neuroticism scale is divisible into a general factor (Neuroticism) and two special factors (Anxious-Tense and Worried-Vulnerable), and although all three factors are associated with poorer mental health, their associations with physical health differ: the general Neuroticism factor was associated with poorer health, the association between the Anxious-Tense factor and health was mixed, and the Worried-Vulnerable factor was associated with better health. One unanswered question is how these factors map onto the domains of the Five-Factor Model of personality, and these domains’ lower-order facets? I addressed this question by collecting data from 230 first year psychology undergraduates. These participants completed the 12-item EPQ-RS Neuroticism scale and the 30-item short form version of the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2-S). The general Neuroticism factor was associated positively with higher Neuroticism and its facets of Anxiety, Depression, and Emotional volatility. This factor was also associated negatively with Extraversion and its facet Energy level, Agreeableness and its facet Trust, and with Conscientiousness. The Anxious-Tense factor was associated positively with Neuroticism and its facet Anxiety, and negatively with Extraversion and its facet Assertiveness. The Worried-Vulnerable factor was associated positively only with Neuroticism and its facet Anxiety. Future epidemiological studies should be cautious when interpreting the effects of Neuroticism when it is measured using the EPQ-RS and should seek to replicate the present findings in larger, representative samples, and with comprehensive measures of the Five-Factor Model, such as the NEO Inventories.