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The NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) is often used in field-based research and clinical studies as it is designed to measure the same personality dimensions as the longer NEO Personality Inventory in a shorter time frame. In this study, the authors examined the reliability and structural validity of the NEO-FFI scores at the item level in a large sample of Jamaican young adults ( N = 1,021; ages 17-24 years). Across different factor estimation and rotation methods, many NEO-FFI items performed poorly. Likewise, the estimated reliability of the NEO-FFI scores was poor (except Conscientiousness) across different estimations of reliability. These items and scores were then compared with other studies of the NEO-FFI that reported item-level pattern/structure coefficients or reliability estimates. Similarities in item performance and low reliability estimates across studies suggest that the items, rather than cultural differences, account for much of the poor performance of the NEO-FFI scores, especially in the domains of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness.

We examined the structure of the new Block Patterns (BP) test from the Shipley Institute of Living Scale-Second Edition in a sample of Jamaican young adults. To date, very little has been published on the properties of this subtest's items and scores. The BP test is similar in design to the Block Design subtest found in many cognitive ability assessments but uses a matching format that minimizes the need for excess materials and time. We analyzed the BP items using item response theory (IRT) methods. Although designed to measure a single construct, the analyses from this study found that the BP subtest is likely measuring more than a single construct, which confounds the interpretation of the instrument's scores. Before the subtest is used clinically, more research should be done to purposefully investigate the effects of ancillary variables on its scores. Keywordsitem response theory, block design, block pattern, Shipley Institute of Living Scale-Second Edition, JamaicaFor almost a century, psychologists have been using nonverbal measures to assess the cognitive ability of individuals with limited education or limited language proficiency (Boake, 2002). Samuel Kohs (1920) developed one of the first nonverbal tests when he created the Block Design (BD) Tests. He initially developed the test by adapting a children's game (Color Cubes), which required individuals to reproduce a series of mosaic designs using colored cubes. As a student of Lewis Terman, Kohs developed his test to be a measure of "intelligence" akin to the Binet but minimizing the use of language. He proposed that successfully completing the tasks involved both analytic (e.g., breaking down the presented designs into smaller units) and synthetic (e.g., reassembling the smaller units with the colored cubes) thinking (Kohs, 1923).

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