Abstract

Analyzed the psychometric characteristics of five BFI-S scales and determined the effici= ency of the scale to obtain the required psychometric characteristics. The study= is a non-experimental, prospective, and applied field study with a cross-secti= on and related post hoc design. This sample is a non-probabilistic sample of 6= 48 Panamanian adults who responded to the BFI Personality Scale, part of an international study on the psychological and behavioral impact of the COVID= -19 crisis called the COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey conducted by Lieberoth and oth= ers. The instrument is part of an inventory that integrates eight other scales. = The principal component extraction method was used, and the rotation method used was the Varimax normalization with Kaiser. The data was analyzed with Cronbach's Alpha statistic to calculate the reliability of the test. The results indicate that the construct does not have validity or reliability f= or the Panamanian sample.

Keywords:<= span style=3D'letter-spacing:.55pt'> BFI-S, COVID= -19, Panama, pandemic, scale.

Introduction

The impact of the pandemic on individuals and society has changed people's life concepts. Similarly, the deterioration of health and education has deepened, and the effect of social disparities is more pronounced than ever.

One of the phenomena that have attracted psychological attention is that many people from various countries began to propose actions, interventions, and solutions in different areas throughout the pandemic. This completely conflicting self-imposed task requires research. It is essential to underst= and the character traits of those who leave their comfort zone and those waiting for others to resolve emergencies.

With this outlook, Sutin et al. Conducted a pre-test post-test investigation on = the possible alterations that may be reflected in the changes in psychological function due to the COVID-19 situation. First, personality traits were meas= ured with the Big Five Inventory-2 instrument with 60 items in a sample of 2,137= in the United States of America. The authors found that neuroticism decreased = over the six weeks the study lasted, especially in the areas of anxiety and depression.

They also found through pre-testing that going to work when sick is considered t= he behavior of responsible and conscientious workers. In the post-test, the re= sult was the opposite. The significance of taking ill to work has changed with t= he epidemic.

Although the theory suggests that personality traits will last a lifetime and are difficult to change, the author wants to prove this in a very unpleasant and stressful pandemic situation. Therefore, they concluded that the changes recorded in the sample were due to the response to the coronavirus outbreak, not due to personality changes (Sutin, Luchetti, Aschwanden, Lee, Sesker, S= trickhouser, Stephan, & Terracciano, 2020).

Brandt et al.'s research aimed to study personality traits from late childhood to = late adulthood through the Big Five model. The authors report that the Short Big Five Inventory (BFI-S) has the psychometric structure to evaluate personali= ty traits by age groups (Brandt, Becker, Tetzner, Brunner, Kuhl, & Maaz, 2020). They worked with two samples in Germany. The first one of 1090 sixth grade children from 68 randomly selected primary schools in the Land of Bra= ndenburg. The second sample was obtained from the Socioeconomic Panel in Germany. Households were chosen using a multi-stage random sampling strategy that included 18,789 adults.

The results show that the overall scale structure of the BFI-S five factors can= be used from late childhood to late adulthood; that is, there is evidence that personality trait metrics are comparable (Brandt, Becker, Tetzner, Brunner, Kuhl & Maaz, 2020).

In another study, Das and Arora (2020) reported that adjustments to unfortunate situations in life and ways to cope with or solve these problems could be explained by the personality components of the fi= ve significant factors related to resilience. The results show a significant positive correlation between resilience and consciousness, resilience and openness to experience, resilience to extraversion. However, resilience is = inversely correlated with neuroticism.

Stricker et al. (2019) carried out a meta-analysis on the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and the five great personality traits, intending to reinforce the conceptual framework necessary to integrate the approaches and measures used in perfectionism research. They used 72 samples that included a total of 21,573 participants.

Schmidt et al. al (2010) wrote a paper on the history of the Eysenck personality psychobiological model. They described the conceptual process of the instrument, which can be traced back to pre-Socratic Greek thought, the sta= ge of the analytical model, and the personality theory.

Mosques et al. (2019) conducted a survey in which they combined samples from Argent= ina, Spain, and the United States, used in two different languages, the Spanish version is used in Argentina. The other two languages use Eng= lish instruments. They applied a five-factor personality model (FFM), emphasizing psychometric structure (validity and reliability).

According to Salgado et al. (2016), personality theory can be divided according to th= eir viewpoints. For example, the approach focuses on (Allport, 1937; Cattell, 1= 943) characteristics and behavior patterns, about personality or motivation (Mur= ray, 1938; Ryan & Decy, 2000), recognition Knowledge (Mischel & Shoda, 1= 995; Bandura, 2001), the influence of social and cultural background (Markus &am= p; Kitayama, 1991; Nisbett, 2003) or those concerned with mechanisms and biological and evolutionary structures (Eysenck, 1985 Years; Zuckerman, 199= 1; De Young & Gray, 2009).

Although there is a lot of research on the use and applicability of the BFI scale, Spanish is regional in Latin America, so it is necessary to consider lexical and semantic differences (Salgado, Vargas-Trujillo, Schmutzler & Wills-Herrera, 2016). Therefore, when the scale was applied to the Colombian sample, the author found that the meaning of certain items was questionable= . For example, 323 young undergraduates enrolled in a private university in Bogotá were between 17 and 25.

In 2018, Domínguez-= Lara and Merino-Soto published work on two short versions of BFI application amo= ng 332 senior students in Peru to determine the psychometric properties of the sample. The results show that these tools have not gained validity or reliability. They believe this may be because the five-element model has not been thoroughly tested in China, and the tools developed in different cultu= res need to be evaluated for dimensionality. Although these are Spanish version= s of Latin America, it is not enough to use and copy them.

Methods

Study design

Facto, cross-sectional and descriptive Expoxt design, non-experimental, prospectiv= e, applicative, and field.

Participants

As part of the international research on the psychological and behavioral impact of the COVID-19 crisis, Panama, like more than 150 countries, accepted the invitat= ion to participate in ~~the survey,~~ the COVIDiSTRESS global survey by Lieberoth and others (2020).

The survey involved= 765 Panamanian adults who responded electronically. The selection of samples is non-probabilistic and snowballing. Data collection started on May 10 and en= ded on May 30.

A total of 648 peop= le answered the BFI-S thoroughly; that is, 117 people did not fully answer the scale, so they are not considered in the analysis.

Measurements <= /b>

A five-factor model (FFM) is used to measure a five-dimensional list of the B= ig Five personalities, which is currently widely accepted in Panama. The dimensions are extroversion, openness, neuroticism, kindness, and consciousness. They integrate 60 items into one version. As far as China is concerned, they use the Big Five Personality Scale (CBF-PI), a 134-item self-report scale (Zhang, Wang, He, Jie, and Deng, 2019). In addition, ther= e is another Big Five Personality Trait Questionnaire (BFPTSQ) with 50 items and more than 44 items.

From these patterns, a short version was made, just like the Big Five Inventory-= 15, also known as BFI-S (Soto & John, 2017), which uses three items in each dimension, In this way, there are a total of 15 questions, and there are fi= ve answer options on the Likert scale.

For this research, the version of the BFI-S with six response options was used,= as shown in the appendix.

Because the invento= ry used is the same for all participating countries, each region needs to obta= in the psychometric characteristics for its population.

Procedure

The study arises from the search for answers to the unexpected pandemic by Covid-19, in which a group promotes a global survey that includes nine different scales to know the psychological and behavioral impact of the population, inviting to join all countries named COVIDiSTRESS global survey= by Lieberoth et al., (2020).

The author sent virtual calls to well-known psychologists in different professi= onal fields through social networks to launch the participation movement of the Panamanian population. Carmen Fernández, Ana María Florez, Christian Tejeira, Aelén López, Hilda Avilés, Ibeth Vergara, Jéssica Chung, Ricardo Turner, Cristóbal Nieto, Nuria Araguá= s, Melba Stanziola, Librada Guerra, and Virginia Castillero helpe with the tas= k of looking for participants and promoting the study. Since June, the data has = been published on the COVIDiSTRESS global survey website and, a statistic= al analysis was carried out.

Considering the number of people who answered the instruments, the reliability assessme= nt was carried out through the Cronbach's alpha statistic, and the construct validity was calculated using factor analysis.

Statistical Analysis

The data were analyzed through the statistical program for social sciences SPSS= 24 ©. The 648 cases. We were subjected to the factorial analysis inferential statistic to determine the scale's construct validity using the principal components extraction method and Kaiser's Varimax normalization rotation me= thod. The data were subjected to Cronbach's Alpha analysis.

Ethical considerations<= /p>

The research ensured that each participant accepted the informed consent on usi= ng and managing the information collected, which has all the ethical considerations required in Panama for studies of this nature.

Results

For the construct validity, the results obtained of the Big Five Inventory in i= ts short version (Big Five Inventory-Short), in a Panamanian population, are f= ive components that together have an explained variance of 60.657%. They conver= ged in seven iterations, performed with the principal component extraction meth= od, and the rotation method used was the Varimax normalization with Kaiser.

The data were analyzed with Cronbach's Alpha statistic to calculate reliability, which yielded a value of .558 with the 15 items considered limited internal consistency.

The items that make up the conceptual factors, the factor load weights, the corrected total item correlation (rit), and the reliability of the elements= as shown in table 1.

It is important to note that items 3, 10, 12, 13, and 15 (see appendix) report= ed factorial weights greater than .30 in at least two different factors, which could be = part of the explanation for the limited validity.

Regarding Cronbach's alpha, the factors of conscience, agreeableness, and neuroticism show negative values, despite checking the coding, which directly affects t= he instrument's reliability.

=

Table 1: Factor Structure of BFI-S in Panama

Item No.

Charge=

Explained variance

Alpha<= /o:p>

1 Opening

7

He is original, and he comes up with new ideas

.428

.730

16.256

.663

8

Values the artistic, the aesth= etic

.419

.594

9

Has a very active imagination<= o:p>

.400

.739

2 Extravers= ion

4

He likes to talk

.318

.762

11.974

.059

5

Is outgoing and sociable<= /o:p>

.257

.775

6

It is reserved

.028

-.678<= /o:p>

3 Conscienc= e

13

You are meticulous about your = work

.388

.489

11.492

-.327*=

14

Tends to be lazy, lazy

-.095

-.753<= /o:p>

15

Does things efficiently

.346

.527

4 Friendlin= ess

10

He is sometimes rude to others=

-.058

-.326<= /o:p>

10.893

-.103*=

11

He is forgiving; it is not difficult for him to forgive

.249

.777

12

Is considerate and kind to alm= ost everyone

.381

.645

5 Neurotici= sm

1

Cares a lot about things<= /o:p>

.259

.766

10.042

-.031*=

2

Gets nervous / often

-.021

.733

3

Remains calm in difficult situations

.214

-.383

* The value is negative due to= a negative average covariance between items. This violates the assumptions = of the reliability model. Check item encodings.

Discussion and Conclusion

The cultural and linguistic richness and social background of Latin America are essential variables that need to be considered when translating and using scales developed by other countries, although efforts have been made to ensure the fidelity of translation and adaptation. This is the case with BFI-S, which = has not reached Colombia (Salgado, Vargas-Trujillo, Schmutzler & Wills-Herr= era, 2016), Peru (Domínguez-Lara & Merino-Sotto, 2018) and now Panama. Therefore, the scale does not measure personality traits. It represents an opportunity to research, analyze, and rethink personality theory and the structure to be measured.

Due to the pandemic, the BFI-S and eight other scales were simultaneously contained in a battery. The people in the sample were told to forget the COVID-19 crisis and respon= d; it is challenging to show neutrality in this case.

It should also be remembered that Crede and collaborators (2012) have expressed the risk of applying the short version of the personality quality scale because of the increased error rates for Type I and Type II and how to overestimate the structure. Pretending to use three elements to evaluate the personality fie= ld may seem attractive due to the ease of response and time of application, bu= t, at least in this part of the world, the result is far from favorable.<= /o:p>

Funding

The Sistema Naciona= l de Investigación (SNI) and the Grant APY19-009, SENACYT, Panamá, and the Grant MINBUZA-2020.926889 from the Department of European Integration, The Kingdo= m of the Netherlands supports research activities by Ericka Matus and Jay Molino= .

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. Funders have no role in research des= ign, collecting, analyzing, interpreting data, writing manuscripts, or deciding = to publish results.

Acknowledgments = =

We are grateful to Carmen Fernández, Ana María Florez, Christian Tejeira, Aelén López, Hilda Avilés, Ibeth Vergara, Jéssica Chung, Ricardo Turner, Cristóbal Nieto, Nuria Araguás, Melba Stanziola, Librada Guillero, and Virginia Castillero for pos= ting surveys on their network coverage More participants at the national level.<= o:p>

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Item No.	Charge=	Explained variance	Alpha<= /o:p>
1 Opening	7	He is original, and he comes up with new ideas	.428	.730	16.256	.663
8	Values the artistic, the aesth= etic	.419	.594
9	Has a very active imagination<= o:p>	.400	.739
2 Extravers= ion	4	He likes to talk	.318	.762	11.974	.059
5	Is outgoing and sociable<= /o:p>	.257	.775
6	It is reserved	.028	-.678<= /o:p>
3 Conscienc= e	13	You are meticulous about your = work	.388	.489	11.492	-.327*=
14	Tends to be lazy, lazy	-.095	-.753<= /o:p>
15	Does things efficiently	.346	.527
4 Friendlin= ess	10	He is sometimes rude to others=	-.058	-.326<= /o:p>	10.893	-.103*=
11	He is forgiving; it is not difficult for him to forgive	.249	.777
12	Is considerate and kind to alm= ost everyone	.381	.645
5 Neurotici= sm	1	Cares a lot about things<= /o:p>	.259	.766	10.042	-.031*=
2	Gets nervous / often	-.021	.733
3	Remains calm in difficult situations	.214	-.383
* The value is negative due to= a negative average covariance between items. This violates the assumptions = of the reliability model. Check item encodings.