Psychometric Properties and Standardization of the Shortened Latvian Personality Inventory (LPI-v3s) in Athlete Sample: Implications for Evidence-Based Assessment

Background Personality traits play an important role in athletic performance, yet existing sport-specific measures often lack psychometric refinement and predictive validation. This research comprised two interlinked studies aimed to create and validate a short version of the Latvian Personality Inventory (LPI-v3s) and examine its utility for identifying personality predictors of athletic achievement. Methods A total of 925 athletes (aged 15–45 years; 84 sports) participated. Following data screening, two subsamples were formed: Study 1 (n = 436) for psychometric evaluation and Study 2 (n = 753) for predictive analysis. Study 1 employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and multi-group CFA to test gender invariance. Continuous regression-based norming produced age and gender specific T-scores. Study 2 applied hierarchical logistic regression to examine the predictive validity of personality traits for elite/pre-elite versus non-elite status. Results The 53-item LPI-v3s demonstrated a stable five-factor, 14-trait structure, satisfactory internal consistency (α = 0.72–0.88), and configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender. Predictive models indicated that lower Anxious Insecurity (N1) and Sociability (E1), and higher Orderliness (C1 ) , particularly in team sports which significantly predicted higher athletic achievement (AUC = 0.72). Conclusions The validated LPI-v3s offers a reliable and efficient measure of athlete personality with robust psychometric properties and practical value for sport psychology, talent identification, and applied performance research.