The psychometric properties of the Italian version of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ)

Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) conceptualizes personality as the long-term stability of brain process underlying motivational states. It proposes three systems: the Behavioral Approach System (BAS), the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), and the Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS). The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ) in an Italian community sample of 332 participants (62.7 % female), aged between 18 and 77 years. Results confirmed that the Italian version of the RST-PQ demonstrates strong psychometric properties in terms of both internal consistency and factor structure. Reliability analyses indicated that all scales exhibited good-to-excellent reliability, comparable to the values reported in the original validation study of the RST-PQ, as well as in other language adaptations. A series of confirmatory factor analyses support the six-factor structure of the Italian RST-PQ, yielding fit indices equal to or better than those of the original version. The Italian version of the RST-PQ shows promise as a useful tool for both research and clinical applications. In particular, its capacity to differentiate between the BIS and FFFS constructs provides valuable insights for investigating and understanding motivational tendencies, reactivity, and behavioral patterns in contexts characterized by distress and fear-related phenomena in an Italian population.