| Interest in developing tests that can be used internationally has flourished in the last few years. When developing tests for this purpose, it is important to establish cross-national equivalence for the psychological constructs of interest. Measurement of temperament is an important endeavor with international appeal. Information related to temperament can be used to facilitate growth, guide important life decisions, improve individual performance, promote the prevention and intervention of problem behavior, and foster social relationships. Our study first reviewed historical perspectives on temperament constructs. We then explored recent perspectives including type theory, trait theory, and biological perspectives. Practical uses of temperament concepts, considerations in the generalizability of temperament constructs, and measurement issues also were reviewed. Our study was designed to examine the cross-national construct equivalence of school-aged children's temperament types as measured by the Student Style's Questionnaire (SSQ). The SSQ is a forced-choice self-report measure of children's temperament. Development of the SSQ was driven by Jung's theory of temperament as augmented by Myers and Briggs. Results of our study support the conclusion that the SSQ measures the same four bipolar dimensions or styles among children from eight countries: Australia, China, Costa Rica, Gaza, Nigeria, the Philippines, The United States, and Zimbabwe. |
