Psychometric properties of extrashort Big Five personality measures in multi-topic surveys: Documenting personality traits in the SHP and MOSAiCH

Using three different Swiss nationwide datasets, one from MOSAiCH (2007) and two from the Swiss Household Panel (SHP-2009 and SHP-2014), the aim of this study is to assess the psychometric properties of two extra-short multi-item scales designed to assess the Big Five personality traits: the 10-item Big Five Inventory-Ten (BFI-10) and the 15-item Big Five Inventory Short Version (BFI-15). The measurement models of both scales were evaluated using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). General result patterns demonstrated that the basic models based on the three datasets showed marginal fit. The two instruments do not adequately capture the Big Five personality traits. Neither the MOSAiCH sample nor the two SHP samples support the five-factor structure postulated by the theory of both scales. However, the two instruments benefit largely from modifications: acceptable models can be found based on residual correlations and adaptation of the theoretical models, although they do not always measure all of the Big Five personality traits but only some of them.