A psychometric study has been conducted with the aim of testing the validity of the Formal Characteristics of Behaviour-Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI). FCB-TI has been constructed to measure six temperament traits according to the Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT): Briskness, Perseverance (referring to the temporal aspect of behavior), Sensory Sensitivity, Emotional Reactivity, Endurance, and Activity (referring to the energetic characteristics of behaviour) . These traits have been compared with other temperament as well as personality dimensions. The following measures were used: PTS, EAS-TS, DOTS-R, EPQ-R, SSS-V, 16PF, and NEO-FFI. The study was conducted on samples consisting of over 1500 subjects with satisfactory balanced gender ratio (about 50 per cent), and with a broad range of age (from 15 to 77 years), representing a variety of professions and educational levels. The correlational and factor analytic findings are presented; these show high theoretical validity of the FCB-TI scales, except the Sensory Sensitivity scale. In the discussion some conclusions concerning the revision of the structure of temperament have been suggested. 1972; 1983) and in a revised form (STI-R) developed by Strelau, Angleitner, Bantelmann and Ruch (1990a; Ruch, Angleitner and Strelau, 1991) were used as the main methods by means of which the basic assumptions of the RTT were examined. However, these inventories were constructed with the purpose of measuring the

A psychometric study has been conducted with the aims of revising the structure of temperament as postulated by the Regulative Theory of Temperament ( R T T ) and of constructing an inventory which corresponds to the RTT. A starting point for the study was the assumption that temperament refers to formal attributes of behaviour expressed in energetic and temporal characteristics. About 600 items covering 12 characteristics were generated. A study based on linguistic and itemmetric analysis allowed us to reduce the number of items representing the 12 characteristics to a 381-item pool. This set of items served as the basis for distinguishing the temperamental traits and for constructing the inventory: the Formal Characteristics of Behaviour-Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI). A thorough psychometric study and factor analysis of data obtained from over 2000 subjects (both genders, aged from 15 to 80 years) allowed us to distinguish six temperamental traits which have the status of Jirst-order factors. Among them, four-Sensory Sensitivity, Endurance, Emotional Reactivity, and Activity-refer to the energetic aspect of behaviour and two-Briskness and Perseverance-refer to the temporal characteristics. The FCB-TI has satisfactory psychometric characteristics, including Cronbach alpha and stability measures. Studies have shown that the six FCB-TI scales are replica across samples and refer to robust temperament dimensions. psychometric techniques) which allow us to operationalize and to measure the basic concepts comprised by the theory.The Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT), presented for the first time by Strelau (1974) almost two decades ago, and most systematically developed in his 1983 monograph, may serve as an example of a theory which was lacking, maybe not in operationalizations but certainly in assessment techniques. The RTT did not provide methods by means of which the basic assumptions regarding the structure of temperament and the hypothesized temperamental traits could be examinedsupported or falsified. Because the roots of the RTT can be found, among other theories, in the Pavlovian approach, the main inventory by means of which data referring to the RTT were collected was the Strelau Temperament Inventory (STI; Strelau, 1972Strelau, , 1983; see also the revised STI, by Strelau, Angleitner, Bantelmann and Ruch, 1990). However, the STI (and the STI-R as well), measuring the Pavlovian constructs of strength of excitation, strength of inhibition, and mobility of nervous processes, does not grasp all the traits postulated by the RTT. This is especially true with respect to activity as postulated by the RTT (see Strelau, 1983Strelau, , 1989 and with reference to temporal characteristics, except mobility. For assessing the temporal traits, the Temporal Traits Inventory (TTI) was developed (see Gorynska and Strelau, 1979;Strelau, 1983); however, it was rarely applied in further studies.Such a state of affairs regarding the status of the RTT has forced us to develop an inventory which corresponds fully to the the...

Abstract. This study assesses the impact of temperament and trauma considered as predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms experienced during flood and coal mining accidents. Five samples were studied - one comprised of coal miners who experienced a mining catastrophe (N = 52) and four samples of flood victims (N = 1041), including 562 females. PTSD symptoms were measured - depending on the sample under study - at different time periods (from 3 months to 3 years), and in two samples repeated measures were taken. For measuring symptoms of PTSD the PTSD-Factorial Version inventory constructed in our laboratory was applied. Temperamental traits were assessed by means of the Formal Characteristics of Behavior - Temperament Inventory. Intensity of trauma and prolonged trauma consequences were measured by means of an interview. For analyzing the data coefficients of correlation and hierarchical regression were used. In all samples such temperament traits as briskness and endurance act as buffers resulting in lowering the effect of trauma inducing events. On the other hand, perseverance and emotional reactivity act as augmenters that result in increasing the effect of experienced trauma. In all samples emotional reactivity was the best predictor of the intensity of PTSD symptoms. In samples in which measures of trauma were included both variables - trauma and emotional reactivity - contributed essentially as predictors of PTSD symptoms and this held true independent of whether PTSD was assessed 3 months, 15 months, or 3 years after experiencing the disaster (flood).

No abstract

No abstract