NEUROTICISM - HOW DOES ONE SLICE THE PI(E)

Costa and McCrae's operationalization of the Five-Factor Model, the Ne uroticism, Extraversion, and Openness Personality Inventory-Revised (N EO-PI-R; Costa and McCrae, 1992a), measures five broad dimensions of p ersonality: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Co nscientiousness. According to Costa and McCrae, the Neuroticism (N) do main scale subsumes six facets. Although derived rationally and tested factor analytically, the factorial structure of the facet scales has yet to be unequivocally confirmed with analytic methods imposed at the item level. Using confirmatory and exploratory factor-analytic techni ques, this study examines and tests the structure of the N domain scal e of the NEO-PI-R. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates poor replica tion of the structure of the N scale. Results of the exploratory facto r analysis indicate that while three of the facets replicated quite we ll, the other three factors did not correspond to Costa and McCrae's f ormulation. Future research should elaborate on the factorial structur e and construct validity of the N facet scales, especially if they are to be used and interpreted in personality and clinical assessment. (C ) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.