Is Small Beautiful? The Use of a Short Picture-Based Scale to Assess Childhood Personality

The assessment of personality traits in children under ten has gained increasing attention in literature. Much of the interest in assessing personality traits stems from associations between Big Five traits and life outcomes. The Pictorial Personality Traits Questionnaire for Children (PPTQ-C) integrates pictorial stimuli with simplified sentences to measure the Big Five in this age group. This study aimed to evaluate the validity evidence of the Brazilian version of the PPTQ-C. We assessed 533 children (<i>M</i> = 8.32, SD = 1.38; 53% girls). Using multiple analytical techniques, we found weak support for the five-factor structure and response patterns indicating social desirability. We discuss the implications of these findings for pictorial personality assessment in young children.