A Brief Self-Report Scale to Assess Personality in Children and Adolescents: The 15-Item Dichotomous Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2-15D)

Given the paucity of brief self-report instruments to assess youth's personality, this study aimed to develop the 15-item Dichotomous Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2-15D) and to preliminarily test its psychometric properties. It consists of a 15-item adaptation of the BFI-2 for children and adolescents, which considers the breadth of the 5 traits and is rated on a dichotomous scale. In a sample of 970 7- to 12-year-olds, we found support for its factorial structure, invariant across sex and age level. Despite expected drawbacks in internal consistency, corrected item-total correlations were adequate across all dimensions. Moreover, the BFI-2-15D shows evidence consistent with discriminant and concurrent validity. Notwithstanding limitations, this brief questionnaire may represent a useful alternative to longer instruments in research contexts characterized by time constraints and when it is important to reduce respondents' fatigue and cognitive load.