Turkish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI): reliability, validity, and factorial structure

Abstract

personality that accounts for both normal and abnormal variation of two majorcomponents of personality: temperament and character. The Temperamentand Character Inventory (TCI) is a 240-item self-administered questionnaireconstructed to assess four temperament (Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance,Reward Dependence, and Persistence) and three character dimensions (Self-Directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-Transcendence). In this study, weaimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the TCIin a healthy Turkish population and obtain normative data for the Turkish TCI.Methods: The study was conducted in both Karadeniz Technical UniversitySchool of Medicine and Atatürk University School of Medicine using a sample of683 healthy volunteers. Participants were administered a short version ofMarlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Turkish TCI that was translat-ed by Kose and Sayar and officially approved by Cloninger to be used in this val-idation study.Results: Turkish sample had significantly lower mean scores on NoveltySeeking, Reward Dependence and higher mean scores on Harm Avoidancethan the American sample. On character dimensions, the Turkish sample hadsignificantly lower scores on Self-Directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-Transcendence. Self-Directedness and Harm Avoidance, Cooperativeness andReward Dependence, and Cooperativeness and Self-Directedness wereintercorrelated. The Cronbach’s coefficients were between .60 and .85 ontemperament dimensions, and were between .82 and .83 on characterdimensions. The lowest Cronbach’s coefficients were found in RewardDependence (.60) and Persistence (.62). A principal axis factor analysis with afour-factor solution by Oblimin rotation reproduced highest loadings on NoveltySeeking and Harm Avoidance and relatively weaker loadings on RewardDependence and Persistence. A three-factor solution for character subscalesreproduced highest loadings on Cooperativeness and Self-Transcendence.Conclusions: The reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the TCI weresupported by its reliable psychometric properties and construct validity. TheTurkish version of the TCI successfully confirmed Cloninger’s seven-factor modelof personality. This pioneering work suggests that the Turkish TCI can be appliedin clinical populations as well as in neurobiological and neuroimaging investigations.