McCrae R R, Costa P T, Arenberg D
J Gerontol. 1980 Nov;35(6):877-83. doi: 10.1093/geronj/35.6.877.
Constancy or change in adult personality organization can be assessed by comparing the factor structure of personality instruments at different ages, and some studies have reported cross-sectional differences in structure. The present study compares the factor structure of the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey scales longitudinally in three administrations 6 years apart and cross-sectionally in three age cohorts. Additional analyses compare first administration data collected in two successive decades to test for variation in structure resulting from cultural change over that period. Subjects were 769 male volunteers in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, aged 17 to 97 at the time of the first administration. Three varimax-rotated principal components were extracted in each of eight analyses. Results show no systematic evidence of variation in structure in any of these groups, with coefficients of factor congruence ranging from .83 to .99. This longitudinally demonstrated invariance of personality structure is discussed in terms of the implications for the stability of personality organization throughout the adult years and for the use of personality tests in elderly groups.
通过比较不同年龄阶段人格测量工具的因素结构，可以评估成人人格组织的稳定性或变化情况，并且一些研究已经报道了结构上的横断面差异。本研究纵向比较了吉尔福德 - 齐默尔曼气质调查问卷量表在相隔6年的三次施测中的因素结构，并横向比较了三个年龄组群的情况。额外的分析比较了连续两个十年收集的首次施测数据，以检验那段时期文化变迁导致的结构变化。研究对象是巴尔的摩老年纵向研究中的769名男性志愿者，首次施测时年龄在17岁至97岁之间。在八项分析中的每一项里，都提取了三个经过方差最大化旋转的主成分。结果表明，在这些组群中均没有系统的结构变化证据，因素一致性系数范围在0.83至0.99之间。本文从成年期人格组织稳定性的意义以及老年群体人格测试的使用等方面，对这种纵向证明的人格结构不变性进行了讨论。
