Examining the Factor Structure of the Personality Attributes Questionnaire

This study uses confirmatory factor analysis to assess the factor structure and unidimensionality of the Personality Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ; Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1974). The results suggest that neither the original 24-item PAQ scale (Spence et al., 1974) nor the 18-item PAQ scale proposed by Ward, Thorn, Clements, Dixon, and Sanford (2006) is satisfactory. This revised scale was subjected to tests of measurement invariance and examined for its predictive utility in sex classification. Findings confirm Ward et al. The PAQ-MF (masculine or feminine traits) was identified as a statistically reasonable substitute for the PAQ-M (masculine traits) when either unidimensionality or reliability is not possible for all factors. However, the lack of unidimensionality and reliability in the metric begs the question of whether the instrument has utility in gender assessment at all.