An examination of the Spanish translation of the 50-item IPIP Big-five inventory in a Spanish speaking Peruvian sample

The International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) five-factor model inventories are a widely used resource for personality research and have been translated into multiple languages. However, the extent of the psychometric assessment of translated scales is variable. Here we present a structural analysis of one Spanish translation of the 50-item IPIP five-factor inventory in a sample of Peruvian non-university educated working adults (n=778). A global confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) model of the a priori five factors failed to fit. So too did single factor models for four of the five factors, the exception being Neuroticism. Fit was improved via use of an exploratory structural equation measurement model, but the resultant solution showed very poor theoretical coherence. The pattern of factor loadings suggested that the lack of coherence might be due to the effects of the valence of item wording. CFA models including five substantive factors and a series of method factors modelling shared covariance based on item wording, improved fit and coherence. This investigation suggests that the tested Spanish translation, without explicitly modelling method factors, may not be suitable for use in certain Spanish-speaking countries or samples composed of non-university educated participants.