Examining the construct validity of the MIDUS version of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ)

The Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) measures a wide range of personality traits associated with affect and temperament. However, the lengthy administration time may have hindered its widespread use in personality research. The National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) has adapted a short version of the MPQ that consists of only 35 items. However, the psychometric properties of this abbreviated version have not been thoroughly examined beyond what is presented in the survey's documentation. This study aimed to investigate the construct validity of the MPQ-35 at both the item and scale levels using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), measurement invariance by gender and age, and external correlates with several personality and psychological constructs. The results show that the MPQ-35 exhibits promising properties, performing well and accurately recapturing the original MPQ structure, with ten lower-order traits and three higher-order broad factors.