Factor Structure and Personality Disorder Correlates of Responses to the 50-Item IPIP Big Five Factor Marker Scale

Given the prevalence of the use of the 50-item International Personality Item Pool Big Five Marker Scale (IPIP-50) in psychological research, it is important to demonstrate that responses to the scale are both psychometrically robust, and clinically relevant. Data obtained from 459 participants were analyzed to examine the factor structure, cross-cultural relevance, and potential clinical value of responses to the IPIP-50. Mean level gender differences were significant on four of the five IPIP-50 personality domains. Principal component analyses revealed that not only was the IPIP-50 five factor structure recovered from responses by this sample, but comparison of the factor loadings with those from three Scottish samples presented by Gow et al. (2005) indicated convergence across these two cultures. Canonical correlation analyses revealed strong associations between IPIP-50 scores and International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE) scores, and between IPIP-50 scores and the External Validators Scale (EVS) scores, supporting the clinical utility of scores from this scale.