Cross-cultural measurement invariance of the BFI-15p in university students from Argentina, Spain, and Peru

Abstract

The Big Five Inventory–15p (BFI-15p) is a relatively new 15-item version developed for Hispanic populations;however, evidence of its cross-cultural equivalence is lacking. This study examined the clarity of item phrasing(Study 1) and measurement invariance (Study 2) in university students from Argentina, Spain, and Peru. Twostudies were conducted: one to assess perceived item clarity (n = 70) and another to evaluate the internalstructure (n = 737), including dimensionality, reliability, and measurement invariance. In Study 1, consistentitem clarity was observed across the three groups, though one item required minor revision. In Study 2, the fivefactor structure showed a good fit in the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), while exploratory structuralequation modeling (ESEM) provided slightly better results. However, differences between CFA and ESEM werenot substantial, as cross-loadings were close to zero. Omega reliability varied across country groups but waspredominantly acceptable for three-item subscales (approximately 0.60). Differential item functioning (DIF) bysex within each country was predominantly negligible. Measurement invariance was supported at the configural,metric, and scalar levels. The findings highlight the implications of measuring the Big Five model in universitystudents across diverse cultural contexts.