Revisiting Quick Big Five Personality Test: Testing Measurement Invariance across Gender

Abstract

Personality is a subject that has been studied because of the social, economic, individual, and educational implications of personality. The widely used model for measuring personality is the Five-Factor Model (FFM). The robustness of the factor structure of the FFM of personality has been provided among cultures and diverse samples. The measurement tools are used to identify differences between individuals or groups. However, in order to make meaningful comparisons, it is necessary to provide the measurement equivalence among the comparison groups. Thus the current study aimed to test the measurement invariance of the Quick Big Five (QBF) items that are used in many disciplines in Turkey. For this purpose, the QBF items were investigated in terms of configural, metric, scalar and strict invariance across gender. In this research, 1114 university students aged between 17-32 years were included in the sample. Firstly, several CFAs were performed for the whole sample and then both men and women separately. The findings of the CFA revealed that the QBF model fit the data. In addition, each of the 30 items of the scale was embedded into a related latent factor in both gender groups. Secondly, sequential multiple group CFA tests to examine measurement invariance were conducted. According to the findings, full configural, partial metric and scalar invariance were fulfilled across gender. However, strict invariance could not be achieved. Imaginative and inquisitive under the openness factor were determined to cause measurement non-invariance. In conclusion, latent mean comparisons can be made by excluding these two items across gender.