Development and Validation of a Personality Type ‎Inventory ‎Based on Enneagram

Abstract

Objective: The Enneagram of Personality is an ancient model of human personality, principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. The aim of this study was to develop a Turkish inventory based on the Enneagram principles. Methods: The authors developed an instrument based on expert opinion and the Delphic method. The final questionnaire consisting of 44 questions was applied to a sample of 156 Turkish-speaking participants using a Likert scale ranging from 0 to 6. Expert validation, factor analysis, and internal consistency were applied. The categorization done by the inventory was validated against the personality type classification made by an expert. Data analysis was done with the SPSS version 20. Results: Of the participants, 89 were females (57.4%) and 66 were males (42.6%). Mean age of the participants was 30.52±10.0 years. Most of the participants were university graduates/students (n=113; 72.4%). Cronbach alpha value for the total items was 0.839 with a split half value of 0.817 for part 1 and 0.757 for part 2. Guttman Split-Half Coefficient was calculated as 0.520. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the nine components explained more than 60% of the total variance. In the confirmatory factor analysis, all items, except item 22, had factor loadings ranging from 0.411 to 0.829. Mean sensitivity and specificity of the instrument for detecting different personality types were high (82.8% and 97.8% respectively). While specificity was above 94% for all domains, sensitivity for type 4 personality was 66.7%. Conclusion: We have concluded that the Taştan Personality Type Inventory is a useful tool in identifying personality types according to the Enneagram principles in Turkish citizens.

Frequency of personality types based on enneagram in a Turkish sample: A web-based cross-sectional study

“…In our study, the most commonly encountered primary personality type was number 2, "the helper," while number 8, "the challenger" was the most frequently encountered personality wing. As to the original study during the scale development, the most prevailing personality among the participants was found as personality number nine, the peacemaker [11]. Other researchers [12,21] consistently identified the number nine-personality type is the most frequent personality type.…”

“…Standardized psychometric tests of adult personality and psychopathology such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [5], the Five-Factor Model [6], Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire [7], Temperament and Character Inventory [8], and Kupfer Detre Scale [9], were utilized by health professionals as part of their assessment procedures. Although the Enneagram principles are known in Europe since the 1920s [10], its use has not become widespread, partly due to missing appropriate measurement scales [11].…”

“…Hence, it was not widely employed as a psychometric measurement tool. However, there are recent efforts to develop scales measuring temperament based on the Enneagram [11,15].…”

“…The Tastan Personality Types Inventory (TPTI) [11] was hosted at Google Forms (https://docs.google.com/forms/ d/e/1FAIpQLSeN90dTISi43Bjh4GRX7zDc01cow4hcpTrn0Ao 2Eab7E4rm5g/viewform) and made available via the university's academic web page http://aile.atauni.edu.tr. Responses were collected online.…”

“…The primary outcome variable of the study was the leading personality type, as defined by the TPTI [11]. Additionally, demographic questions included were age, sex, educational status, occupation, and city of residence.…”