Assessing personality:: the Temperament and Character Inventory in a cross-cultural comparison between Germany, Sweden, and the USA

In this study the American, Swedish, and German versions of the Temperament and Character Inventory were compared based on samples of 300 healthy volunteers each, which had been carefully matched for age and sex. The: analyses indicate a high agreement for scores on the temperament and character dimensions and subscales across the samples. Exceptions include minor differences that appear to be due to cultural variations, differences in sampling methods, and of some minor difficulties with two subscales (Exploratory Excitability and Self-acceptance) as well as defining the Persistence factor as an independent dimension of Temperament. The subscales yielded similar internal consistencies, correlational structure, factor structures, and high factor congruence coefficients. The results indicate a cross-cultural transferability of the Temperament and Character dimensions of the inventory. Also, the validity and stability of the seven-factor model of personality, as suggested Ly Cloninger, is supported.