The study examined the validity of scores on pre-hire administration of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) Clinical, Restructured Clinical (RC), and Substance Abuse scales in predicting behavioral misconduct in police officers. The effects of range restriction on predictive validity were examined and corrected for in the analyses. Data from 291 male police officers were analyzed. Outcome measures included Internal Affairs complaints, Civilian Review Authority complaints, involuntary termination from department, and supervisory ratings. Results indicated that the RC scales (particularly RC3, RC4, RC6, and RC8) exhibited the best predictive validity and further challenged the utility of the K-correction of the Clinical scales. Predictive validity was moderate to strong when disattenuating correlations for range restriction. Relative risk analyses revealed that lower cutoffs for MMPI-2 scales (e.g., T = 60 and, in some cases, T = 55) maximized the prediction of police officer misconduct.
The current study examined the predictive validity of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011) scores in police officer screenings. We utilized a sample of 712 police officer candidates (82.6% male) from 2 Midwestern police departments. The sample included 426 hired officers, most of whom had supervisor ratings of problem behaviors and human resource records of civilian complaints. With the full sample, we calculated zero-order correlations between MMPI-2-RF scale scores and scale scores from the California Psychological Inventory (Gough, 1956) and Inwald Personality Inventory (Inwald, 2006) by gender. In the hired sample, we correlated MMPI-2-RF scale scores with the outcome data for males only, owing to the relatively small number of hired women. Several scales demonstrated meaningful correlations with the criteria, particularly in the thought dysfunction and behavioral/externalizing dysfunction domains. After applying a correction for range restriction, the correlation coefficient magnitudes were generally in the moderate to large range. The practical implications of these findings were explored by means of risk ratio analyses, which indicated that officers who produced elevations at cutscores lower than the traditionally used 65 T-score level were as much as 10 times more likely than those scoring below the cutoff to exhibit problem behaviors. Overall, the results supported the validity of the MMPI-2-RF in this setting. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed.
The interpersonal cognitive problem-solving (ICPS) skills (i.e., means-ends thinking, identified obstacles, alternative solutions, consequential thinking) of 150 families (father, mother, and child 6-11 years old) were assessed via written tests and problem-solving behavioral performance. The interrelationships of ICPS written and behavioral problem-solving skills were examined, as were the relationships of each of these measures of problem solving to both parent and teacher indices of child adjustment. IQ, as measured by the age-appropriate Wechsler scale, was partialed out. Results indicated some ecological validity of written alternatives and consequential tests for children and means-ends tests for parents. Neither parents' nor children's written ICPS scores nor problem-solving behavior were systematically related to either teacher or parent ratings of child adjustment. However, a behavioral index of parental facilitation of child problem solving was significantly related to all problem-solving behaviors and some written ICPS measures. Results are discussed in terms of the role of ICPS skills in child adjustment, the potential limits of ICPS measures in therapy outcome, and the manner in which children learn interpersonal cognitive problem solving.
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