The Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) assesses a range of personality characteristics pertaining to affective and interpersonal style, behavioral restraint versus disinhibition, and capacity for sensory and imaginal engagement. Its 11 lower order trait scales map onto 3 higher order factors that reflect temperament dimensions. Its content and measurement properties have made the MPQ useful for elucidating constructs relevant to normal and abnormal behavior and investigating their neurobiological underpinnings. However, a barrier to its use in certain populations is the reading difficulty of some MPQ items. We describe efforts to develop a simplified-wording form, the MPQ-SF, composed of items readable at or below the seventh grade level (with most below sixth grade). Simplified-wording items demonstrated high convergence with original-wording items, and resulting trait scales showed adequate internal consistencies and appropriate higher order structure. The availability of a simplified version expands the potential utility of the MPQ to a wider range of samples.
Benet-MartinezV.JohnO. P. (1998). Los Cinco Grandes across cultures and ethnic groups: Multitrait multimethod analyses of the Big Five in Spanish and English. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 729-750.
2.
BenningS. D.PatrickC. J.BlonigenD. M.HicksB. M.IaconoW. G. (2005). Estimating facets of psychopathy from normal personality traits: A step toward community-epidemiological investigations. Assessment, 12, 3-18.
3.
BenningS. D.PatrickC. J.HicksB. M.BlonigenD. M.KruegerR. F. (2003). Factor structure of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory: Validity and implications for clinical assessment. Psychological Assessment, 15, 340-350.
4.
BlonigenD. M.HicksB. M.KruegerR. F.PatrickC. J.IaconoW. G. (2005). Psychopathic personality traits: Heritability and genetic overlap with internalizing and externalizing pathology. Psychological Medicine, 35, 637-648.
5.
BlonigenD. M.PatrickC. J.DouglasK. S.PoythressN. G.SkeemJ. L.LilienfeldS. O.KruegerR. F. (2010). Multimethod assessment of psychopathy in relation to factors of internalizing and externalizing from the Personality Assessment Inventory: The impact of method variance and suppressor effects. Psychological Assessment, 22, 96-107.
6.
BornovalovaM.HicksB. M.PatrickC. J.IaconoW. G.McGueM. (2011). Development and validation of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Borderline Personality Disorder scale. Assessment, 18, 234-252.
7.
BrownW. (1910). Some experimental results in the correlation of mental abilities. British Journal of Psychology, 3, 296-322.
8.
CronbachL. J.MeehlP. E. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52, 281-302.
9.
ChurchA. T. (1994). Relating the Tellegen and Five-Factor models of personality structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 898-909.
10.
ChurchA. T.BurkeP. J. (1994). Exploratory and confirmatory tests of the Big Five and Tellegen’s three- and four-dimensional models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 93-114.
11.
ClarkL. A. (1993). Manual for the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
12.
ClarkL. A.WatsonD. (1991). Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: Psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 316-336.
13.
ClarkL. A.WatsonD. (1999). Temperament: A new paradigm for trait psychology. In PervinL. A.JohnO. P. (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 399-423). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
14.
CloningerC. R.SvrakicD. M.PrzybeckT. R. (1993). A psychobiological model of temperament and character. Archives of General Psychiatry, 50, 975–990.
15.
CostaP. T.McCraeR. R. (1985). The NEO Personality Inventory Manual Form S and Form R. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
16.
CostaP. T.McCraeR. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
17.
CostaP. T.McCraeR. R. (1997): Stability and change in personality assessment: The Revised NEO Personality Inventory in the year 2000. Journal of Personality Assessment, 68, 86-94.
18.
DavisT. C.MayeauxE. J.FredricksonD.BocchiniJ. A.JacksonR. H.MurphyP. W. (1994). Reading ability of parents compared with reading level of pediatric patient education materials. Pediatrics, 93, 460-468.
19.
DavisT. C.WolfM. S.ArnoldC. L.ByrdR. S.LongS. W.SpringT.BocchiniJ. A. (2006). Development and validation of the Rapid Estimate of Adolescent Literacy in Medicine (REALM-Teen): A tool to screen adolescents for below-grade development and validation of the rapid estimate of adolescent literacy in reading in health care settings. Pediatrics, 118, e1707-e1714.
20.
DiLallaD. L. (1989). Dimensions of personality and their relationship to psychopathology: An analysis of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
21.
EysenckH. J.EysenckS. B. G. (1975). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. London, England: Hodder & Stoughton.
22.
GoldbergL. R. (2005). The Eugene-Springfield community sample: Information available from the research participants. Oregon Research Institute (ORI) Technical Report, 45(1).
23.
GoldbergL. R.JohnsonJ. A.EberH. W.HoganR.AshtonM. C.CloningerC. R.GoughH. G. (2006). The International Personality Item Pool and the future of public-domain personality measures. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 84-96.
24.
GorsuchR. L. (1983). Factor analysis (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
25.
GoughH. G.BradleyP. (1996). Manual for the California Psychological Inventory (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
26.
HallJ.BenningS. D.PatrickC. J. (2004). Criterion-related validity of the three-factor model of psychopathy: Personality, behavior, and adaptive functioning. Assessment, 11, 4-16.
27.
HareR. D. (1991). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Multi-Health Systems.
28.
HopwoodC. J.DonnellanM. B. (2010). How should the internal structure of personality inventories be evaluated?Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14, 332-346.
29.
JavdaniS.FinyM. S.VeronaE. (2012). Evaluation of the validity of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire–Simplified Reading form (MPQ-SF) in adolescents with treatment histories. Manuscript submitted for publication.
30.
JohnO. P.DonahueE. M.KentleR. L. (1991). The Big Five Inventory—Versions 4a and 54. Berkeley: University of California, Institute of Personality and Social Research.
31.
JoinerT. E.Jr.CatanzaroS.LaurentJ. (1996). Tripartite model of positive and negative affect, depression, and anxiety in child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 401-409.
32.
KennealyP. J.HicksB. M.PatrickC. J. (2007). Validity of factors of the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised in female prisoners: Discriminant relations with antisocial behavior, substance abuse, and personality. Assessment, 14, 323-340.
33.
KincaidJ. P.FishburneR. P.RogersR. L.ChissomB. S. (1975). Derivation of new readability formulas (automated readability index, fog count, and Flesch reading ease formula) for Navy enlisted personnel (Navy Training Command Research Report 8-75). Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service.
34.
KruegerR. F. (1999). Personality traits in late adolescence predict mental disorders in early adulthood: A prospective-epidemiological study. Journal of Personality, 67, 39-65.
35.
KruegerR. F.CaspiA.MoffittT. E.SilvaP. A.McGeeR. (1996). Personality traits are differentially linked to mental disorders: A multitrait-multidiagnosis study of an adolescent birth cohort. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 299-312.
36.
KruegerR. F.MarkonK. E.PatrickC. J.BenningS. D.KramerM. D. (2007). Linking antisocial behavior, substance use, and personality: An integrative quantitative model of the adult externalizing spectrum. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116, 645-666.
37.
LilienfeldS. O.AndrewsB. P. (1996). Development and preliminary validation of a self-report measure of psychopathic personality traits in noncriminal populations. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66, 488-524.
38.
LivesleyW. J.JacksonD. N. (2006). Manual for the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology. Port Huron, MI: Sigma Press.
39.
McCraeR. R.CostaP. T.MartinT. A. (2005). The NEO-PI-3: A more readable revised NEO personality inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 84, 261-270.
40.
McCraeR. R.ZondermanA.CostaP.T.Jr.BondM. H.PaunonenS. V. (1996). Evaluating replicability of factors in the Revised NEO Personality Inventory: Confirmatory factor analyses versus Procrustes rotation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 552-556.
41.
MarkonK. E.KruegerR. F.WatsonD. (2005). Delineating the structure of normal and abnormal personality: An integrative hierarchical approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 139–157.
42.
MessickS. (1995). Validity of psychological assessment validation of inferences from persons’ responses and performances as scientific inquiry into score meaning. American Psychologist, 50, 741-749.
43.
MillerM. W.GreifJ. L.SmithA. A. (2003). Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire profiles of veterans with traumatic combat exposure: Externalizing and internalizing subtypes. Psychological Assessment, 15, 205-215.
44.
MinekaS.WatsonD. A.ClarkL. A. (1998). Comorbidity of anxiety and unipolar mood disorders. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 377-412.
45.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). Literacy behind bars: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey. Report by the U.S. Department of Education (NCES-2007-473). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007473.pdf.
46.
PatrickC. J.CurtinJ. J.TellegenA. (2002). Development and validation of a brief form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 14, 150-163.
47.
PatrickC. J.HicksB. M.KruegerR. F.LangA. R. (2005). Relations between psychopathy facets and externalizing in a criminal offender sample. Journal of Personality Disorders, 19, 339-356.
48.
PoythressN. G.LilienfeldS. O.SkeemJ. L.DouglasK. S.EdensJ. F.EpsteinM.PatrickC. J. (2010). Using the PCL-R to help estimate the validity of two self-report measures of psychopathy with offenders. Assessment, 17, 206-219.
49.
SalekinR. T. (2006). Psychopathy in children and adolescents: Key issues in conceptualization and assessment. In PatrickC. J. (Ed.), Handbook of psychopathy (pp. 389-414). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
50.
SchinkaJ. A.BorumR. (1994). Readability of normal personality inventories. Journal of Personality Assessment, 62, 95-101.
51.
SmithD.StennerA.HorabinI.SmithM. (1989). The Lexile framework: Final report for NIH grant HD-19488. ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED 307 577.
52.
SpearmanC. C. (1910). Correlation calculated from faulty data. British Journal of Psychology, 3, 271-295.
53.
TellegenA. (1985). Structures of mood and personality and their relevance to assessing anxiety, with an emphasis on self-report. In TumaA. H.MaserJ. D. (Eds.), Anxiety and the anxiety disorders (pp. 681-706). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
54.
TellegenA. (1995/2003). Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire–276 (MPQ-276), test booklet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
55.
TellegenA. (2002). Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Brief Form (MPQ-BF), test booklet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
56.
TellegenA. (2011a). Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire–276 (MPQ-276), research kit. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
57.
TellegenA. (2011b). Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Brief Form (MPQ-BF), research kit. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
58.
TellegenA. (2011c). Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Simplified Form (MPQ-SF), research kit. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
59.
TellegenA.Ben-PorathY. S.McNultyJ. L.ArbisiP. A.GrahamJ. R.KaemmerB. (2003). MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales: Development, validation, and interpretation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
60.
TellegenA.Ben-PorathY. S.SellbomM.ArbisiP. A.McNultyJ. L.GrahamJ. R. (2006). Further evidence on the validity of the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales: Addressing questions raised by Rogers et al. and Nichols. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87, 148-171.
61.
TellegenA.PatrickC. J.VeronaE.KaemmerB. A. (2011). Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Simplified Form (MPQ-SF), test booklet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
62.
TellegenA.WallerN. G. (2008). Exploring personality through test construction: Development of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. In BoyleG. J.MatthewsG.SaklofskeD. H. (Eds.), Handbook of personality theory and testing: Personality measurement and assessment (Vol. 2,pp. 261-292). London, England: Sage.
63.
VeronaE.HicksB.PatrickC. J. (2005). Psychopathy and suicidality in female offenders: Mediating effects of temperament and abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 1065-1073.
64.
VeronaE.PatrickC. J.JoinerT. E. (2001). Psychopathy, antisocial personality, and suicide risk. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 462-470.
65.
WatkinsM. W. (2002). Coefficient of congruence (Rc) [Computer software]. State College, PA: Author.
66.
WatsonD.WieseD.VaidyaJTellegenA. (1999). The two general activation systems of affect: Structural findings, evolutionary considerations, and psychobiological evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 820-838.
