A NEO-PI-R short form for older adults.

This article reports on the construction and examination of a 120 item version (NEO-PI-R-SF) of the Dutch/Belgian NEO-Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R). The item selection was based on criteria of appropriateness for older adults and psychometric contribution. The factor structure of the NEO-PI-R-SF proved highly equivalent to the parent instrument, indicating concordant validity. Coefficients alpha were generally lower due to the reduction of items. When assessed in a new sample of older adults (N=794), the factor structure of the NEO-PI-R-SF proved replicable, except for the facet scales A1: Trust and A3: Altruism. Coefficients alpha for the domain scales were satisfactory, while the coefficients alpha for the facet scales were marginal to satisfactory and below those found in two adult samples (N=1305 and N=682). It was concluded that the NEO-PI-R-SF may be a time-saving alternative for research when a fine-grained description of personality among older adults is required.