A reduced Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-56). Psychometric properties in a non-clinical sample

The aim of this study is to present a short version with 56 items (TCI-56), based on the Temperament and Character Inventory revised version (TCI-R). The psychometric properties of the TCI-56 were studied in a sample of 822 university students (526 women). The factorial structure of the inventory was explored using parallel analysis with normalized promax rotation, considering jointly the items of the Temperament dimensions (HA: Harm avoidance, NS: novelty seeking, RD: Reward dependence and PS: Persistence) and the Character dimensions (SD: Self-directedness, C: Cooperativeness and ST: Self-transcendence). The reliability coefficients were adequate, ranging from .69 for NS to .85 for ST, and the factorial matrices showed a dimensional clustering with satisfactory item saturation in the total sample and both genders. Women presented higher values for HA, RD, PS, SD and C, while men had higher values for NS. The TCI-56 could be a useful instrument to assess Cloninger’s model of the 7 dimensions of personality in non-clinical samples, whenever there is an interest to reduce the time needed to respond. Further studies, however, should explore its adequacy in clinical samples, its test–retest reliability, and the convergent or discriminant validity with other measures of personality.