Potential Determinant of Early Childhood Personality Structures in Career Development

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to develop and validate a new personality inventory for children aged 6–9 years, grounded in the Big Five personality model (BFM). The research addressed a critical gap in developmental and organizational psychology, as existing instruments often target older age groups and fail to capture early personality structures. A quantitative, descriptive survey design was employed, and data were collected online. In the initial implementation, 954 parents participated, and 218 valid responses were analyzed. The five‐factor, 48‐item structure of the inventory was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), yielding acceptable model fit indices ( χ ² /df = 2.19, RMSEA = 0.074, CFI = 0.98, GFI = 0.94). Internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's α ranging from 0.705 to 0.881) indicated satisfactory reliability. Classification analyses showed high discriminant validity, with accuracy rates ranging from 92.5% to 96.5%. A second implementation with 99 new participants confirmed the stability and consistency of the structure across demographic groups. The findings demonstrated that the developed inventory is a valid and reliable tool for assessing personality in early childhood. Moreover, the instrument has potential applications in educational planning, early intervention, and career orientation research, providing a scientific foundation for understanding how early‐emerging personality traits shape future organizational and vocational behaviors.