AccScience Publishing / JCBP / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/jcbp.3791
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Development and validation of a neuroticism scale: Assessment of reliability and validity

Qingfei Liu1† ,  Linlin You2† ,  Yonggui Yuan2 ,  Wenhao Jiang2*
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1 Department of Psychology, Medical Humanities, School of Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
2 Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, ZhongDa Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
JCBP, 3791 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.3791
Submitted: 30 May 2024 | Accepted: 12 August 2024 | Published: 22 November 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Neuroticism, a personality trait linked to emotional instability and negative emotions, is associated with increased anxiety, depression, and poor mental health outcomes, particularly in individuals with psychiatric disorders. However, existing neuroticism scales often have too many items, are not tailored for psychiatric populations, and lack cultural adaptation for Chinese contexts. We aimed to develop a brief neuroticism scale with adequate reliability and validity for the Chinese population, including individuals with psychiatric disorders. The 14-item scale was developed based on the five-factor model and Eysenck’s personality theory. The scale, in the form of a questionnaire, was distributed to college students from Southeast University and patients from the Affiliated Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University. A total of 554 participants were recruited, and demographic information, the neurotic subscale of the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) were collected along with the neuroticism scale. Correlation analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to test and revise the scale. EFA indicated that the neuroticism scale consisted of four factors: Low self-esteem, excessive emotional sensitivity, unstable mood, and excessive worry. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.926. CFA suggested a good fit of the scale structure (χ2/df =2.506, root mean square error of approximation =0.039, Tucker–Lewis index =0.947, comparative fit index =0.959, and standardized root mean square residual =0.032). The total scores of the neuroticism scale were positively related to those of PHQ-9, GAD-7, and NEO-FFI. The results indicate that the neuroticism scale exhibited a stable four-dimensional structure with good reliability and validity in the Chinese population. It is useful and time-saving for assessing neuroticism in individuals with psychiatric disorders.

Keywords
Neuroticism
Factor analysis
Reliability
Validity
Funding
The work was partially supported by the Research Personnel Cultivation Program of Zhongda Hospital Southeast University (CZXM-GSP-RC38).
Conflict of interest
Yonggui Yuan and Wenhao Jiang are the Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editor of the journal, respectively, but were not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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Journal of Clinical and Basic Psychosomatics, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4414 Print ISSN: 3060-8562, Published by AccScience Publishing
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