This study aimed to investigate the validity of the Eysenckian personality dimensions in 1,368 children and adolescents who completed the Greek Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Junior (EPQ-J). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed. Controversial issues regarding the Lie and Psychoticism scales were also investigated. Finally, the predictive validity of the EPQ-J was assessed using Goodman’s Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analytic results supported the four-factor structure of the scale. Results provide support for the appropriateness of the EPQ-J with Greek speaking samples and add to the international literature regarding the three-factor model of personality in children and adolescents.
Bibou-Nakou, I., Kiosseoglou, G., & Stogiannidou, A. (2001). Strengths and difficulties of school-aged children in the family and school context. Psychology: Journal of the Hellenic Psychological Society, 8, 506-525.
3.
Bishop, D.I., & Hertenstein, M.J. (2004). A confirmatory factor analysis of the Structure of Temperament Questionnaire. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64, 1-11.
4.
Bollen, K.A. ( 1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.
5.
Browne, M.W., & Cudeck, R. ( 1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 445-455). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
6.
Browne, M.W., & Mels, G. ( 1992). RAMONA user’s guide. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.
7.
Byrne, M.B. ( 2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
Caruso, J.C., & Edwards, S. ( 2001). Reliability generalization of the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 173-184.
Dimitriou, E.C. ( 1986). The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ): The validity of the Greek, adult and Junior version. Engefalos, 23, 41-55.
11.
Eysenck, H.J. ( 1994). The big five or giant three: Criteria for a paradigm . In C. F. Halverson & G. A. Kohnstamm (Eds.), The developing structure of temperament and personality from infancy to adulthood (pp. 37-51). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
12.
Eysenck, H.J., & Eysenck, S.B.G. (1975). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (adult and junior). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
13.
Eysenck, H.J., & Eysenck, S.B.G. (1994). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire: Comprising the EPQ-Revised (EPQ-R) and EPQ-R Short Scale. San Diego, CA: EdITS.
14.
Eysenck, H.J., & Gudjonsson, G.H. (1989). The causes and cures of criminality. New York: Plenum.
15.
Eysenck, S.B.G., & Chan, J. ( 1982). A comparative study of personality in adults and children: Hong Kong vs. England. Personality and Individual Differences , 3, 153-160.
16.
Eysenck, S.B.G., & Dimitriou, E.C. (1984). Cross-cultural comparison of personality: Greek children and English children. Social Behavior and Personality, 12, 45-54.
17.
Eysenck, S.B.G., & Eysenck, H.J. ( 1964). An improved short questionnaire for the measurement of extraversion and neuroticism. Life Science, 305, 1103-1109.
18.
Francis, L.J., Lankshear, D.W., & Pearson, P.R. ( 1989). The relationship between religiosity and the short form JEPQ (JEPQ-S) indices of E, N, L and P among eleven year olds. Personality and Individual Differences, 10, 763-769.
19.
Goodman, R. ( 1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A Research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581-586.
20.
Hammond, S.M., & Lienert, G.A. ( 1992). Point symmetry adjustment of phi-coefficients in the factor analysis of psychometric test items. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 211-219.
21.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P.M. ( 1995). Evaluating model fit. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 76-99). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
22.
John, O.P., Caspi, A., Robins, R.W., Moffitt, T.E., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1994). The "Little Five": Exploring the nomological network of the five-factor model of personality in adolescent boys. Child Development, 65, 160-178.
Katz, Y.J., & Francis, L.J. ( 1991). The dual nature of the EPQ Lie Scale? A study among university students in Israel. Social Behaviour and Personality, 9, 217-222.
25.
Kim, J., & Mueller, C.W. ( 1978). Factor Analysis: Statistical methods and practical issues . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
26.
Kuo, P.H., Chih, Y.C., Soong, W.T., Yang, H.J., & Chen, W.J. ( 2004). Assessing personality features and their relations with behavioral problems in adolescents: Tridimensional personality questionnaire and junior Eysenck personality questionnaire. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 45, 20-28.
27.
Lajunen, T., & Scherler, H.R. (1999). Is the EPQ Lie Scale bidimensional? Validation study of the structure of the EPQ Lie Scale among Finnish and Turkish university students. Personality and Individual Differences , 26, 657-664.
28.
Lamb, M.E., Chuang, S.S., Wessels, H., Broberg, A.G., & Hwang, C.P. ( 2002). Emergence and construct validation of the Big Five in early childhood: A longitudinal analysis of their ontogeny in Sweden. Child Development, 73, 1517-1524.
29.
Liebetrau, A.M. ( 1983). Measures of association. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
30.
Mervielde, I., & De Fruyt, F. ( 2000). The Big Five personality factors as a model for the structure of children’s peer nominations. European Journal of Personality, 14, 91-106.
31.
Miller, J.D., Lynam, D., & Leukefeld, C. ( 2003). Examining antisocial behavior through the lens of the five factor model of personality. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 497-514.
32.
Mor, N., Zinbarg, R.E., Craske, M.G., Mineka, S., Uliaszek, A., Rose, R., et al. (2008). Evaluating the invariance of the factor structure of the EPQ-R-N among adolescents. Journal of Personality Assessment, 90, 66-75.
33.
Muris, P., Meesters, C., & Diederen, R. ( 2005). Psychometric properties of the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C) in a Dutch sample of young adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 1757-1769.
34.
Muris, P., Winands, D., & Horselenberg, R. (2003). Defense style, personality traits, and psychopathological symptoms in non-clinical adolescents. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 191, 771-780.
35.
Muthén, B.O. ( 1993). Goodness of fit with categorical and other nonnormal variables. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 205-234). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
36.
Ng, H.S., Cooper, M., & Chandler, P. ( 1998). The Eysenckian personality structure: A giant three or big five model in Hong Kong? Personality and Individual Differences , 25, 1111-1131.
37.
Pearson, P.R., & Francis, L.J. ( 1989). The dual nature of the Eysenckian Lie scales: Are religious adolescents more truthful? Personality and Individual Differences , 10, 1041-1048.
38.
Perez, J., Anglada, M., & Guitart, A. ( 1990). Spanish versions of the JEPQ and the EPQ among 15- to 16-yr olds. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 869-870.
39.
Rothen, S., Vandeleur, C.L., Lustenberger, Y., Jeanpretre, N., Ayer, E., Sisbane, F., et al. (2008). Validation of the French version of the EPQ-Junior. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 464-474.
40.
Russell, D.W. ( 2002). In search of underlying dimensions: The use (and abuse) of factor analysis in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1629-1646.
41.
Shapiro, S.E., Lasarev, M.R., & McCauley, L. ( 2002). Factor analysis of Gulf War illness: What does it add to our understanding of possible health effects of deployment? American Journal of Epidemiology, 156, 578-585.
42.
Tanaka, J.S. ( 1993). Multifaceted conceptions of fit in structural equation models. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 10-39). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
43.
Widaman, K.F. ( 1993). Common factor analysis versus principal component analysis: Differential bias in representing model parameters? Multivariate Behavioral Research, 28, 263-311.
44.
Zuckerman, M. ( 1989). Personality in the third dimension: A psychobiological approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 10, 391-418.
