Incremental Validity of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire in the Preemployment Assessment of Police Officer Candidates

Abstract

Guidelines for screening public safety personnel candidates, including law enforcement positions, incorporate the use of separate psychological tests for assessing normal and abnormal functioning. We evaluated the incremental validity of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ)—a measure of normal personality traits—beyond the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), a measure of psychopathology, using a sample of 1,687 candidates for law enforcement positions. They were clinically rated on 10 psychological suitability dimensions. For a subset of those who were subsequently hired as police officers ( n = 397), we also had post-hire outcome data. Using hierarchical nonlinear regression analyses, we found that the MPQ scales incremented the MMPI-2-RF scales in the prediction of 17 of 19 variables in this study. Our results indicate that the MPQ, as a measure of normal personality, provides unique information about psychological suitability and predicts negative post-hire outcomes in police candidates.

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