The NEO personality inventory revised (NEO-PI-R): Exploring the measurement structure and variants of the five-factor model

Despite the popularity of the NEO-PI-R as a measure of the five-factor model (FFM), several questions regarding its psychometric foundation have yet to be investigated. Using NEO-PI-R data obtained in a US community sample, confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that most of the single-factor models of individual facets and domains evidenced acceptable fit. However, one-factor models of the domains Extraversion and Agreeableness were not supported, which calls into question their adequacy as measurement models. Analyses of variants of the FFM revealed that only the unrestricted exploratory factor model showed acceptable fit as well as replicability across gender and educational level.