RELIABILITY, FACTORIAL VALIDITY AND EQUIVALENCE OF SEVERAL FORMS OF THE EYSENCK PERSONALITY-INVENTORY QUESTIONNAIRE IN ZIMBABWE

This study evaluated the internal consistency, factorial validity and equivalence of the several forms of Eysenck's personality inventories currently used in Zimbabwe. 670 (416 male, 254 female) Zimbabwean secondary and tertiary students completed each of the following Eysenck questionnaires: the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R), the short-version Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-RS) and the African version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-A). Results provided further cross-cultural support, using several different instruments, for the transferability of Eysencks' four personality dimensions: Extraversion (E), Neuroticism (N), Lie (L) and Psychoticism (P). The psychometric performance of the E and L scales of the EPI was moderate. The E, N and L scales of the EPQ, EPQ-R and EPQ-A possessed acceptable reliability and validity. Although a P factor frequently emerged, its reliability and factorial validity were modest. Correlations between the E, N and L scales of the different EPQ versions were high. The existing E, N and L scales of the EPQ, EPQ-R and EPQ-A could be used in Zimbabwe, but would probably benefit from minor revision. However, careful refinement of the measurement of P is desirable.