On the structure of personality: Are there separate temperament and character factors?

The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) is a widely used measure of psychobiological aspects of personality. Theoretically, the TCI is defined as comprising four temperament and three character factors. Most previous examinations of the factor structure have used exploratory factor methods with mixed results. We used confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to examine the TCI in a sample of 2423 adults aged 35–90 years (1093 women, 1330 men) from the Betula study. Support for the seven TCI factors was mixed. Models including second-order factors provided no evidence that the seven first-order TCI factors reflect higher-order temperament and character constructs. Our findings provide no support that individual differences on the seven first-order TCI factors reflect distinct temperament or character dimensions of personality. Whereas more complex modeling strategies rejected separate character and temperament models, the simultaneous (seven-factor) model, and the use of second-order factors; the harm avoidance, self-directedness, and cooperativeness factors were acceptable examined individually. Results for novelty seeking were marginal and self-transcendence, reward dependence and/or persistence factors were not acceptable.