A network psychometric validation of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) questionnaire for a South Australian population

To validate the psychometric properties of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) for a South Australian population. The TIPI is a brief measure of the Five Factor Model of personality widely applied internationally and locally but not yet validated for an Australian population. Data from the 2015 Dental Care and Oral Health Study, with 4,139 adults completing the TIPI. In the training set, ceiling/floor effects, network estimation, item redundancy and dimensionality via Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) were examined. In the test set, model fit and internal consistency reliability (McDonald’s omega) were evaluated. Analysis revealed no substantial floor or ceiling effects. Redundancy analysis indicated minor overlap, with one meaningful redundancy between conscientiousness items TIPI-3 and TIPI-8 (wTO = 0.216) informing a composite-item solution. EGA supported a two-dimensional composite-item structure with good structural consistency (~99.0%) and item stability (100%). Model fit was good (χ2 (10) = 39.86, CFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.038). McDonald’s Omega was lower than recommended (≥0.70), as expected for such a short scale (Plasticity Ω = 0.62; Stability Ω = 0.65). The TIPI demonstrated good psychometric properties for a South Australian population and plays a fundamental role in large-scale studies requiring brief personality assessment. What is already known about this topic: The TIPI is a widely used, very short measure of the Big Five personality traits, valued for its ease of administration in large-scale studies.Network psychometrics provides a more complete depiction of personality measurement, compared to traditional factor analysis, in that it allows for understanding nuanced item dependencies and how items cluster.Due to the brevity of the TIPI, the lower internal consistency reliability is a limitation that is both well-documented and widely acknowledged in the literature. The TIPI is a widely used, very short measure of the Big Five personality traits, valued for its ease of administration in large-scale studies. Network psychometrics provides a more complete depiction of personality measurement, compared to traditional factor analysis, in that it allows for understanding nuanced item dependencies and how items cluster. Due to the brevity of the TIPI, the lower internal consistency reliability is a limitation that is both well-documented and widely acknowledged in the literature. What this topic adds: This is the first study to validate the TIPI in an Australian population, using network psychometric methods on a large, representative South Australian sample.The study identified two higher-order dimensions (Stability and Plasticity), aligning with the Big Two model of personality, rather than the Five Factor model.Findings demonstrate that the TIPI is a valid tool, supporting its use for large-scale, multidisciplinary studies where short personality scales are required. This is the first study to validate the TIPI in an Australian population, using network psychometric methods on a large, representative South Australian sample. The study identified two higher-order dimensions (Stability and Plasticity), aligning with the Big Two model of personality, rather than the Five Factor model. Findings demonstrate that the TIPI is a valid tool, supporting its use for large-scale, multidisciplinary studies where short personality scales are required.