Personality structure as derived from parental ratings of free descriptions of children: the inventory of child individual differences.
Based on over 50,000 parental descriptors of children gathered in eight different countries, we used a combination of focus group sorting of descriptors in each country and factor analyses of instruments developed in four of the countries (United States, China, Greece, and the Netherlands) to describe children ages 3 to 12 years to select items for an instrument that would work well across countries to access personality. Through many factor analyses of indigenous items in each country, a core set of 141 items was used in three of the countries, with over 3000 parents responding to our instruments in China, Greece, and the United States. Much cross-comparative research analysis has resulted in 15 robust midlevel scales that describe the structures of parental descriptors that are common to the three countries. The data on the English (U.S.) sample are presented in detail. Links to temperament and behavior problems are presented and discussed.
Halverson
Charles F
CF
Department of Child and Family Development, The University of Georgia, Athens, 30602, USA. chalvers@fcs.uga.edu
Havill
Valerie L
VL
Deal
James
J
Baker
Spencer R
SR
Victor
James B
JB
Pavlopoulos
Vassilis
V
Besevegis
Elias
E
Wen
Liu
L
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents; D010551:Personality; D010553:Personality Development; D002666:Psychology, Child; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament