Do the Five Factor Personality Inventory-Children and the BASC-2 measure the same constructs?

Answer 1

[This discussion will be limited to the FFPI-C and the BASC-2 Self-Report of Personality] No, these tests to NOT measure the same constructs, despite both using the word 'personality' in their titles. A comprehension psychological evaluation of a child should idealy include both (or similar) of these assessment instruments. An analogy might quickly bring the reader up to speed on this issue: FFPI-C......NEO AS BASC-2 (SRP).......MMPI Here are some basic characteristics of each measure: FFPI-C

* Ages 9 to 18-years (single form)

* Measures 'normal' personality traits (based upon the Five Factor Model of personality)

* Self-report measure

* Effective in explaining and predicting interactions based upon generally stable temperaments across the life-span

* Effective in assisting the development of counseling and therapeutic interventions

* Manual reports adequate reliability and validity data BASC-2 (SRP)

* Ages 6 years to 21 years (3 forms targeted to individual age range)

* Measures 'atypical' behavioral, social, and emotional thoughts and feelings

* Self-report measure

* Effective in describing current (transient) pathological functioning in children for purposes of classifying/labeling

* Effective in determining eligibility and need for specialized interventions

* Manual reports adequate reliability and validity data An example may help to better understand the differences between these instruments and why information from both helps round out the evaluation process. A child may self-rate atypical on the BASC-2 (SRP) Withdrawal Scale and not actually be clinically impaired, as a concurrently low score on the Extraversion factor from the FFPI-2 would suggest this is based on temperament, and not a transient emotional confliction. Conversely, a low score on the FFPI-C Regulation factor (Neurosis in the traditional FFM) does not in and of itself constitute a profile of serious emotional disturbance {merely poor emotional regulation in a broad sense}; there are many children with poor emotional regulation who are not incapacitated from poor mental health. However, a high number of elevated scores on the BASC-2 (SRP) is suggestive of serious emotional disturbance. Having said this, both the FFPI-C Regulation factor and the BASC-2 (SRP) individual subscales are predictive of classification as emotional-behavior disordered in the public school system. To summarize, while each of these assessment instruments measure different constructs, they are both reliable and valid measures of important psychological constructs that should be examined in a comprehensive clinical evaluation of children experiencing adjustment problems.