Objective: Sasang typology is a traditional Korean medicine based on the biopsychosocial
perspectives of Neo-Confucianism, and utilizes medical herbs and acupuncture for type-specific
treatment. This study was designed to develop and validate the Sasang Personality Questionnaire
(SPQ) for future use in the objective assessment of personality based on Sasang typology.
Design and Methods: We selected questionnaire items using internal consistency analysis and
examined construct validity with explorative factor analysis using 245 healthy participants. Test-retest
reliability as well as correlational analysis with established personality inventories were performed to
examine convergent validity.
Results: The 14-item SPQ showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha=.817), and
test-retest reliability (r=.837). The SPQ reported three extracted subscales namely SPQ-Behavior,
SPQ-Emotionality, and SPQ-Cognition, which explained 55.77% of the total variance. The SPQ
significantly correlated with Temperament and Character Inventory Novelty-Seeking (r=.462),
Harm-Avoidance (r=-.390) and NEO-Personality Inventory Extraversion (r=.629) as predicted in
previous clinical studies. The SPQ score of the So-Eum (24.43±4.93), Tae-Eum(27.33±5.88) and
So-Yang (30.90±5.23) types were significantly different from each other (p<.01).
Conclusion: Current results demonstrated the reliability and validity of the SPQ and its subscales
that can be utilized as an objective instrument for conducting personalized medicine research
incorporating the biopsychosocial perspective. |
