Higher and Lower Order Factor Analyses of the Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire

• Published in: Assessment (Odessa, Fla.) Fla.), 2017-12, Vol.24 (8), p.1050-1061
• Main Authors: Kotelnikova, Yuliya, Olino, Thomas M., Klein, Daniel N., Mackrell, Sarah V. M., Hayden, Elizabeth P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1073-1911; 1552-3489
• DOI: 10.1177/1073191116639376

The Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire (TMCQ) is a widely used parent-report measure of temperament. However, neither its lower nor higher order structures has been tested via a bottom-up, empirically based approach. We conducted higher and lower order exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) of the TMCQ in a large (N = 654) sample of 9-year-olds. Item-level EFAs identified 92 items as suitable (i.e., with loadings ≥.40) for constructing lower order factors, only half of which resembled a TMCQ scale posited by the measure’s authors. Higher order EFAs of the lower order factors showed that a three-factor structure (Impulsivity/Negative Affectivity, Negative Affectivity, and Openness/Assertiveness) was the only admissible solution. Overall, many TMCQ items did not load well onto a lower order factor. In addition, only three factors, which did not show a clear resemblance to Rothbart’s four-factor model of temperament in middle childhood, were needed to account for the higher order structure of the TMCQ.