The Structure of Temperament among Japanese and American Young Adults

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Abstract
To assess the generalizability of the structure of temperament, identified among American young adult samples, to similarly-aged groups in another culture, 304 Japanese college students (59.5% males) were studied. The Japanese responses to the Dimensions of Temperament Survey (DOTS) were compared to those of the American sample studied by Lerner, Palermo, Spiro and Nesselroade (1982) through the use of confirmatory factor analytic procedures. The major results were that evidence for: (1) the five factors present on the DOTS in the American sample (i.e., the factors of Activity, Attention Span/Distractibility, Adaptability/Approach-Withdrawal, Rhythmicity, and Reactivity) were identified also among the Japanese; but that (2) large cultural differences in the Adaptability/Approach-Withdrawal dimension existed. Results are discussed in regard to methodological issues in establishing cross-cultural measurement equivalence and in regard to future research on adult temperament.