Validation of the Japanese version of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory in a large community sample

The NEO Five-Factor Inventory is the shortened version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the shortened version in the general population of Japan. This version was translated into Japanese and then administered to 2,051 adults in a rural town in Akita Prefecture. A total of 1,664 (81.1%) individuals gave valid answers. Internal reliability, assessed by Cronbach alpha for subscales, ranged from .60 to .77. The scales were only weakly correlated both with each other and with age. In a multiple regression analysis, only the Neuroticism scale score was a significant predictor of scores on the General Health Questionnaire. Factor analysis supported the theoretical structure of personality. Overall, the Japanese version showed good reliability and validity in this sample of the general population of Japan.