title: Psychometric properties of the Hong Kong Chinese (Cantonese) TEMPS-A in medical students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The self-rated auto-questionnaire, the Temperament Scale of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego (TEMPS-A) is the latest development in the study of temperamental attributes. It has been used and validated in different cultures and countries. The current study aims at validating the Chinese (Cantonese) version of the TEMPS-A and comparing the psychometric properties of the long and short forms of the translated scale.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Chinese (Cantonese) version of TEMPS-A was prepared with the standard translation and back-translation method, and approved by the original authors (HSA & KKA). It was administered to medical students of the two local universities, and results were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  613 valid questionnaires were returned. The Cronbach-Alpha coefficients for the depressive, cyclothymic, hyperthymic, irritable and anxious temperament subscales were 0.63, 0.82, 0.78, 0.80, and 0.84, respectively. The strongest correlation was observed between the cyclothymic and irritable temperaments (R=0.600). Factor analysis yielded one large composite (depressive and anxious) and four homogenous factors, cyclothymic, anxious, hyperthymic and irritable. A newly reconstituted 43-item short form, based on methods suggested by the original authors yielded similar factor structure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The narrow age range of subjects somewhat limits generalization of the results. However, external and concurrent validations against other validated scales have been demonstrated for the original English versions as well as against the most commonly used languages of the world; furthermore, such validation has also been demonstrated for Chinese (Mandarin).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Chinese (Cantonese) version of TEMPS-A and the reconstituted 43-item short form were found to have good internal consistency and factor structures comparable to those of other languages from diverse cultures across the planet. We propose that the Cantonese TEMPS-A is a useful tool for local use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Shatin Hospital, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: cmleung@ha.org.hk.
authors.forename: Chi Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Arthur D P
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China.
authors.forename: Yu Tao
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Sing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Shatin Hospital, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Connie T Y
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: International Mood Center, University of California, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bessonov
authors.affiliation: International Mood Center, University of California, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: Kareen K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Akiskal
authors.affiliation: International Mood Center, University of California, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: Hagop S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Akiskal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007508:Irritable Mood; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament; D014177:Translations; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chinese-Cantonese; TEMPS-A; Temperaments