Factor Structure of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Child Psychology
• Adolescent Psychology

Background:

• Early adolescence (ages 9-15) involves significant developmental changes.
• Temperament differences predict successful navigation of this life stage.
• Existing temperament measures may not capture early adolescent traits effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically validate the factor structure of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised (EATQ-R).
• To compare different EATQ-R models, including those with cross-loadings and hierarchical factors.
• To assess the reproducibility of the factor structure using cross-validation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a large, representative sample of 2,453 early adolescents (ages 10-12).
• Employed confirmatory factor analysis to test proposed EATQ-R models.
• Included cross-validation to ensure structural reproducibility.

Main Results:

• Models incorporating cross-loadings demonstrated a substantially better fit to the data than the original EATQ-R model.
• The enhanced model achieved a good overall fit, which the original model lacked.
• Conceptual interpretations of first- and second-order factors remained largely consistent despite adding cross-loadings.

Conclusions:

• The revised EATQ-R model with cross-loadings offers improved empirical validity for assessing early adolescent temperament.
• Future research should focus on establishing the construct validity of the identified factor structures.
• This validated instrument can aid in understanding individual differences during early adolescence.