Validation of the French version of the EPQ-Junior

The objective of the present paper was to validate a French version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Junior (EPQ-J), which, in accordance with the corresponding questionnaire for adults, was postulated to have a four-factor structure including Neuroticism, Extraversion, Psychoticism and a Lie Scale. We tested the factor structure and internal reliability of the French translation in a sample of 465 school children (mean age: 12 years) recruited from the general population. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the original orthogonal four-factor structure to have an unsatisfactory fit. However, by removing the constraint of orthogonality, a satisfactory fit could be achieved. Internal reliability estimates were 0.84 for Neuroticism, 0.74 for both Extraversion and the Lie scale and 0.69 for Psychoticism. These results based on a sample of young adolescents provide evidence for the validity of the French translation and further support for the stability of the four major personality dimensions across the lifespan.