Reliability and validity of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory

Abstract

AbstractThe Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI) was developed to assess the temperament (‘novelty seeking’, ‘harm avoidance’, ‘reward dependence’, ‘persistence’) and character (‘self‐directedness’, ‘cooperativeness’, ‘self‐transcendence’) dimensions of Cloninger's biosocial model of personality in children and adolescents. The psychometric properties of the JTCI are presented.We used the German version of JTCI in a clinical sample of 188 adolescent psychiatric patients (aged 12 to 18 years) and in a non‐referred sample of 706 German adolescents of the same age range. Aspects of reliability and validity are discussed.We subjected the JTCI to confirmatory factor analysis and were able to replicate the temperament and character scales of the original TCI. The internal consistency of the scales was satisfactory with the exception of ‘reward dependence’ and ‘persistence’. Construct validity was supported by good correspondence of JTCI dimensions with related constructs.Psychometric properties of the German version of JTCI are very promising. Results yield strong support for Cloninger's psychobiological theory. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd.