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Factor structure, psychometric properties, and validity of the Big Five Inventory-2 facets: evidence from the French adaptation (BFI-2-Fr)

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to realize a French adaptation of the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2), and to further examine the BFI-2’s convergent and discriminant validity via a comparison with the NEO-PI-3 and with the syndromes assessed by the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R). Bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling almost fully supported the BFI-2’s factor structure and measurement model with five major factors, 15 facets, and an acquiescence method factor. All the scales measuring the major factors showed excellent reliability and almost all the scales measuring facets showed acceptable to excellent reliability and satisfactory metric and scalar invariance across gender. The BFI-2 domains and facets were found to be strongly correlated with the scales of the NEO-PI-3 measuring similar constructs. The BFI-2 Negative Emotionality domain and its facets were positively related to most of the SCL-90-R scales, and Extraversion and its facets related negatively with Interpersonal Sensitivity and Depression. In conclusion, data from the French adaptation confirmed the relevance of the BFI-2 hierarchical factor structure, as well as its scales’ reliability and convergent and discriminant validity, which supports and extends the body of knowledge from the original American BFI-2 and its Danish, Dutch, German, Russian, and Slovakian adaptations.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the participants and students involved in the collection and transcription of the data, and Sergei Shchebetenko, who was generous enough to provide them with the scripts he developed for the exploratory structural equation modeling of the BFI-2. They also wish to express their heartfelt thanks to an anonymous rewiever of this journal, who advised them to test the factor structure of the BFI-2 using bifactor modeling.

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Conceptualization: Lignier, B., Petot, J.-M.; Methodology: Lignier, B., Petot, J.-M.; Formal analysis and investigation: Lignier, B., Petot, J.-M., Canada, B., De Oliveira, P., Nicolas, M., Courtois, R.; Writing - original draft preparation: Petot, J.-M., Lignier, B.; Writing - review and editing: Petot, J.-M., Lignier, B., John, O. P., Plaisant, O., Soto, C.; Funding acquisition: Not Applicable; Resources: Not Applicable; Supervision: Plaisant, O., Soto, C.

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Correspondence to Baptiste Lignier.

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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Lignier, B., Petot, JM., Canada, B. et al. Factor structure, psychometric properties, and validity of the Big Five Inventory-2 facets: evidence from the French adaptation (BFI-2-Fr). Curr Psychol 42, 26099–26114 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03648-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03648-0

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