A Cross-Cultural Study of the Personality of Northern Ireland and English Children

Abstract

1281 children (556 boys and 725 girls) from Northern Ireland completed the Junior EPQ. The same factors of Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism and Lie (Social Desirability) emerged in Northern Ireland as in England. Reliabilities of all four factors arc satisfactorily high after minimal changes in the English scoring key. Northern Ireland boys score higher than girls on Psychoticism, lower on Neuroticism and the Lie scale and no different on Extraversion. Comparing scores by using reduced scales consisting of items both scoring keys have in common, Northern Ireland boys score higher than English boys on Psychoticism only, while Northern Ireland girls score higher on Psychoticism and the Lie score, and somewhat higher on Extraversion.