Cross cultural comparison (USA, Japan, Austria) of the personality factor structures of 10 to 14 year olds in objective tests

Twelve personality source traits previously replicated as simple structure factors in American samples, and known to express themselves in part also in Q-data, were represented by some 70 carefully-chosen behavioral measures (T-data) and a dozen questionnaire scales. These were applied to 273 American, 175 Japanese, and 218 Austrian children in the 12 to 14 year age range. Independent factor analysis, with the same principles and standards, on all 3 agreed in finding 23 factors, the first 10 of which (1) yielded significant and consistent matching by congruence coefficients across the 3 studies; and (2) came out with the marker variables used to recognize the source trait in terms of the earlier theoretical developments. Beyond these 10, the matching and meaning were patchy, markers being lacking. It is concluded that the source traits U.I. 16, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, 32, and 33 (which give precision to such concepts as ego strength, anxiety, extraversion, and so on) are as general as “human nature”.