Comparison of the responses of male and female police candidates on MMPI-2 scales using full and short versions in police selection: Theoretical and practical implications

This dissertation compared 1036 male and 279 female police candidates with respect to response patterns and scale scores on the MMPI-2. Clinical, validity, special social desirability scales, and gender-related scales were examined in regard to their ability to determine psychopathology for police selection. Discussion involves both theoretical contributions and the practical use of scales on the MMPI-2 and a 180-item short form of the MMPI-2 developed in 2000 by Dahlstrom and Archer. The resulting personality profiles of the police candidates, the personality profiles of females entering policing, gender-unique response patterns on the MMPI-2 for police candidates, the nature of the gender-related scales on the MMPI-2, the possibility of identifying impression management versus self-deception using the social desirability and validity scales, and the development of a short form for selection were the theoretical contributions of this dissertation. With respect to practical applications, this dissertation examined the use of the 180-item short form in police selection and demonstrated that, most likely due to difficulties with content coverage, inventory length, and the nature of the police candidate sample, the short form was unreliable in terms of identifying critical levels on both validity and clinical scales. An alternative Selection Model is proposed which promotes the use of some of the findings from the analyses of this dissertation and proposes improved economy by changing the placement of the MMPI-2 in the selection process.