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Development of a valid psychological scale for youth police selection among young unemployed and excluded persons: The Nemesis scale
Abstract
Background:
Youth, unemployment and poverty confirm a set of situations that are often inseparable. An example of this is the case of young people from the Andean coca areas.
Objective:
To develop and validate a psychological test that can be used as a predictor of adequate police performance for use in police force recruitment.
Methods:
The study comprised a sample of 713 young people, who were selected to join a pre-police training program designed to allow them to subsequently join the Peruvian police force. A new 200-item instrument, called Nemesis, was created. Derogatis' SCL-90 test was administered to determine the validity of the new instrument. The suitability of the items for the future questionnaire was determined through factor analysis, which reduced the questionnaire to 14 items. Logistic regression was used to determine whether the items on the scale could predict possible admittance into the police training academy.
Results:
A statistical regression analysis showed that the global percentage of correct predictions exceeded chance by almost 15%. Based on this analysis, the scale was determined to be valid.
Conclusions:
The proposed objective of verifying the psychometric properties of the Nemesis scale was fulfilled, as the scale has adequate reliability and validity.
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Introduction and objective:
Occupational stress-related factors among working municipal police officers in Poland have not been examined in the literature. The purpose of the paper was to evaluate the impact of selected work-related factors on occupational stress in active municipal police officers in Warsaw by using configural frequency analysis (CFA).
Materials and methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 578 participants, which accounted for 55.1% of all municipal police officers in Warsaw. The majority of study participants were men (72%) (mean age 43 years old). Two groups of workplace-related stress factors were analysed in the study: physical conditions and organisational working conditions causing stress. The study was carried out using the PAPI method (Paper-and-Pencil Interviewing), based on a proprietary questionnaire developed for the study. CFA searches for templates and patterns in contingency tables.
Results:
Municipal police officers who claimed that stress did not affect health, took advantage of psychological/psychiatric advice less often than those who thought so (1.7% vs 10.1%; χ2 = 20.152, df = 2, P = 0.000). Those who declared that they often experienced stress at work were also more prone to claiming that one or two factors affected their level of stress: physical abuse, contact with infectious materials, working at uncomfortable temperatures or working in a noisy environment. In the opinion of the study population, there were some factors which contributed to the occurrence of stress at work, and these factors included: working in a hurry, lack of necessary resources, devices and materials at work, the need to be available at all times and the unpredictability of the work. The municipal police officers from the study population combined two or three methods to cope with stress, such as watching TV, surfing the Internet and talking with their families.
Conclusion:
Due to the specificity of a municipal police officer's occupation, special attention should be paid to the occupational stress risk factors characteristic for this group of professionals, and measures should be taken to reduce the number of stressors. It is important to organise training events devoted to effective methods of coping with stress. There is need to carry out more in-depth studies of occupational stress among municipal police officers.
Gender-responsive talent management assumes attracting, developing and retaining a required talented workforce in a way that promotes gender equality. Ensuring the balanced representation of female and male personnel is essential for police services to be able to prevent, detect and investigate crimes against women and men effectively. However, in a number of countries police organisations continue to be predominantly male with poor representation of women in high-ranking positions, and owing to the underutilization of their skills and discriminatory attitudes and policies, sexual harassment and difficulties combining police work with family responsibilities. Therefore, in this paper we seek to explore and propose a strategic HRM instrument for promoting a gender-responsive talent management in policing through measuring.
This article takes up the challenge of critical methods in “revolting times,” as we conduct qualitative research on (in)justice festering within repulsive inequality gaps, and yet surrounded by the thrill of radical social movements dotting the globe. I introduce a call for “critical bifocality,” a term coined by Lois Weis and myself, to argue for research designs that interrogate how history, structures, and lives shape, reveal, and refract the conditions we study. Borrowing from critical researchers long gone, W. E. B. Du Bois in his text The Philadelphia Negro and Marie Jahoda in her stunning case study Marienthal, I offer up a set of epistemological muddles and methodological experiments, hoping to incite a conversation about our responsibilities as critical psychologists in deeply contentious times, refusing downstream analyses and resurrecting instead what Edward Said called “lost causes.”
Background:
Sickness presence (SP) is a complex phenomenon that has been shown to predict sickness absence, poor work performance, and suboptimal self-rated health. However, more research is needed to increase the understanding of how SP relates to occupational factors, demographic variables, and self-rated health.
Objective:
The aims of this study were to investigate (1) the prevalence of SP among the Police employees in Sweden in 2007 and in 2010; (2) the association between demographics, seniority, occupational group (police officer vs civil servant), and self-reported health on the one hand and SP on the other hand for both years separately.
Methods:
Survey data from Swedish Police employees from 2007 (n = 17,512) and 2010 (n = 18,415) were analyzed using logistic regression to assess odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results:
The prevalence of SP was stable between the years, but the proportion who stated that they had not been ill at all decreased from 2007 to 2010 (28.0% vs. 23.6% ), while the proportion stating always having stayed at home when ill did not differ; 45.0% in 2007 to 45.8% in 2010. The ORs of SP were higher among those with suboptimal self-rated health compared to those with optimal self-rated health (4.38 (95% CI 4.02- 4.78) and 4.31 (3.96- 4.70) in 2007 and 2010, respectively) and among police officers compared with civilians (1.26 (1.17-1.36) and 1.19 (1.10-1.28)), whereas no clear patterns were found for age, gender, and seniority.
Conclusions:
The prevalences of SP were about the same in 2007 and 2010 and were slightly lower compared to in previous studies. The strong association between SP and suboptimal self-rated health suggests that high levels of SP may be an early marker of future illness and sickness absence. In future studies of SP it is important to account for having been ill, that is, at risk of SP.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the instruments used in the screening process, with particular attention given to supporting research validation. Psychological screening is a well-established process used in the selection of employees across public safety industries, particularly in police settings. Screening in and screening out are both possible, with screening out being the most commonly used method. Little attention, however, has been given to evaluating the comparative validities of the instruments used.
Design/methodology/approach
– This review investigates literature supporting the use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the California Personality Inventory (CPI), the Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI), the Australian Institute of Forensic Psychology's test battery (AIFP), and some other less researched tests. Research supporting the validity of each test is discussed.
Findings
– It was found that no test possesses unequivocal research support, although the CPI and AIFP tests show promise. Most formal research into the validity of the instruments lacks appropriate experimental structure and is therefore less powerful as “evidence” of the utility of the instrument(s).
Practical implications
– This research raises the notion that many current screening practices are likely to be adding minimal value to the selection process by way of using instruments that are not “cut out” for the job. This has implications for policy and practice at the recruitment stage of police employment.
Originality/value
– This research provides a critical overview of the instruments and their validity studies rather than examining the general process of psychological screening. As such, it is useful to those working in selection who are facing the choice of psychological instrument. Possibilities for future research are presented, and development opportunities for a best practice instrument are discussed.
The purpose of this study is to extend White’s analysis predicting successful police
recruit performance during academy training. Using police personnel data collected
on 486 officers hired between 1996 and 2006 by a Midwestern police department, the
authors examine characteristics related to academy success as well as active police
service. The results show that most demographic and experience variables did not
predict academy or active service success. However, White recruits and those scoring
higher on the civil service exam consistently performed better on multiple academy
outcome measures than their counterparts. In addition, those scoring higher on the
overall academy success measure generally received better evaluations from their
superiors. The results also show that higher education is not related to any of the
measures of academy or on the job success used in these analyses.
The qualities which make a good police officer are often difficult to identify. Traits such as intelligence, common sense, dependability, and honesty appear more frequently than others in the police literature. This issue is complicated by two matters. First there is the difficulty in measuring job performance and linking job tasks to personality characteristics. Second is the importance of the police organization in influencing officer behavior, sometimes despite personal characteristics. This review of the literature examines the personality traits thought to be characteristic of a good police officer and discusses the difficulties of measuring as well as predicting good police performance.
The purpose of this study was to investigate conflicting findings in previous research on personality and job performance. Meta-analysis was used to (a) assess the overall validity of personality measures as predictors of job performance, (b) investigate the moderating effects of several study characteristics on personality scale validity, and (c) appraise the predictability of job performance as a function of eight distinct categories of personality content, including the “Big Five” personality factors. Based on review of 494 studies, usable results were identified for 97 independent samples (total N= 13,521). Consistent with predictions, studies using confirmatory research strategies produced a corrected mean personality scale validity (.29) that was more than twice as high as that based on studies adopting exploratory strategies (.12). An even higher mean validity (.38) was obtained based on studies using job analysis explicitly in the selection of personality measures. Validities were also found to be higher in longer tenured samples and in published articles versus dissertations. Corrected mean validities for the “Big Five” factors ranged from .16 for Extroversion to .33 for Agreeableness. Weaknesses in the reporting of validation study characteristics are noted, and recommendations for future research in this area are provided. Contrary to conclusions of certain past reviews, the present findings provide some grounds for optimism concerning the use of personality measures in employee selection.
Background:
The general physical task demands of law enforcement may suggest that police Officers are of similar fitness levels across cities, states and countries.
Objective:
To investigate whether fitness levels of police Officers from two different United States (U.S.) Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) are similar.
Methods:
Retrospective data were analysed from two LEAs (LEA1 n = 79 and LEA2 n = 319). The data for Officers included: age, mass, 1-minute push-up repetitions, 1-minute sit-up repetitions, vertical jump height, 2.4 km run time (LEA 1) and 20-meter Multi-Stage Fitness Test results (LEA 2). Independent samples t-tests were used to compare anthropometric and fitness data between LEA with significance set at 0.05.
Results:
Officers from LEA1 weighed significantly less and performed significantly better than Officers from LEA2 on all fitness measures. When comparing male Officers alone, there was no statistical difference in age and mass; nonetheless, Officers from LEA1 significantly outperformed Officers from LEA2 on all fitness measures.
Conclusion:
While similarities / differences in job tasks performed between these two LEA are not known, the results from this study suggest differences in fitness between these two different U.S. LEA. Fitness standards and training protocols need to be developed and contextualized to each LEA's specific population and needs.
Diversity of police personnel, especially regarding representation of female and racial/ethnic minority officers, is an important step in improving positive police-community relations. Historically, both female and minority applicants have faced challenges in recruitment, hiring, and selection. By systematically reviewing literature available from 2000 to present, this paper identifies persistent challenges and programs aimed at overcoming such deficits in the United States. The studies use samples ranging from potential applicants in college settings to large police agencies, and use primarily quantitative approaches. This review identified four areas that affect hiring of minority and female officers: (1) organizational and external predictors, (2) motivations and attitudes, (3) effective recruitment strategies, and (4) screening process barriers. Recent research has only topically addressed these concerns, while simultaneously revealing significant limitations regarding sample sizes, research design, and implementation in the field. Directions for future research and implications for policy are discussed.
Background:
Military occupations require heightened vigilance with resultant sleep disturbances, increased anxiety and reduced vigilance.
Objective:
To compare yoga with physical training to reduce insomnia, anxiety and increase vigilance in security personnel.
Methods:
One hundred and twelve Border Security Force personnel (BSF group, males; mean age±SD = 30.4±7.4 years) were compared with 112 personnel of a private security firm (SIS group). The BSF group received yoga for nine days and the SIS group received physical training for the same period. Assessments were at baseline and after 9 days, with the digit vigilance test (DVT), Spielberger's STAI-S, and a sleep rating questionnaire.
Results:
(1) Between groups: (i) at baseline the BSF group had higher vigilance and more daytime naps compared to the SIS group and (ii) after nine days the SIS group had higher state anxiety compared to the BSF group (ANOVA, Bonferroni adjusted post-hoc comparisons; SPSS Version 24.0) (2) In post-pre intervention comparisons (i) the BSF group increased vigilance and decreased state anxiety after yoga, with improved sleep, while (ii) the SIS group showed increased vigilance after physical training.
Conclusion:
Yoga may improve sleep, reduce anxiety while increasing vigilance in occupations requiring vigilance.
Background:
Military Policemen and Firemen are professionals often involved in life-risking activities as well as duties demanding endurance and muscular strength. Nevertheless, their working conditions are rarely satisfactory.
Objective:
To compare levels of physical activity and social, demographic and occupational factors between military policemen and firemen; factors that may impact their ability to efficiently and effectively accomplish their jobs.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was performed in Brazil with 127 local military personnel (67 policemen and 60 firemen). A sociodemographic questionnaire was applied together with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), short version.
Results:
It was observed that the firemen participating in this study are 4 times more likely to be inactive than the policemen. However, policemen showed higher sociodemographic risk factors (less schooling and the higher number of children and workplaces) to work performance when compared to military firemen.
Conclusion:
It could be inferred that in relation to the firemen, policemen suffer from less favorable sociodemographic conditions and face major risk situations more frequently once they are directly involved with the public security of the States; on the other hand, both populations should be incentivized and offered systematized physical activity programs in their workplaces.
This paper explores racial differences in police use of force. On non-lethal uses of force, blacks and Hispanics are more than 50 percent more likely to experience some form of force in interactions with police. Adding controls that account for important context and civilian behavior reduces, but cannot fully explain, these disparities. On the most extreme use of force—officer-involved shootings—we find no racial differences either in the raw data or when contextual factors are taken into account. We argue that the patterns in the data are consistent with a model in which police officers are utility maximizers, a fraction of whom have a preference for discrimination, who incur relatively high expected costs of officer-involved shootings.
A sociological classic on unemployment was the study of a small Austrian town, Marienthal [Jahoda, M., Lazarfeld, P. F., & Zeisel, H. (1972). Marienthal: The sociography of an unemployed community. London: Tavistock Publications]. Written in 1933, the investigation aimed to provide the psychological situation of 478 families. The unemployed experienced lower expectations and activity, a disrupted sense of time, and a steady decline into apathy. They tended to be lonely, isolated, hopeless and passive, yet prone to bursts of violence. In the 1990s a researcher (Lobo) used investigations to study late career unemployment focusing on self, family and lifestyles [Lobo, F., & Parker, S. (1999). Late career unemployment. Impacts on self, family and lifestyles. Williamstown: HM Leisure Planning]. The study found that: self-concept and identity of the unemployed was damaged; the unemployed experienced adverse health effects; the impact on the family was profound; being unemployed was very different from having increased leisure time; engaging in serious leisure compensated for loss of paid work; and lifestyles in unemployment seen as active, social, domestic and passive were psychologically beneficial. The impacts of unemployment in Marienthal (1933) and the late carrier study in the 1990s are juxtaposed to demonstrate the universality of job loss.
Background:
Within a Job Demands-Resources Model framework, formal mentoring can be conceived as a job resource expressing the organization's support for new members, which may prevent their being at risk for burnout.
Objective:
This research aims at understanding the protective role of formal mentoring on burnout, through the effect of increasing learning personal resources. Specifically, we hypothesized that formal mentoring enhances newcomers' learning about job and social domains related to the new work context, thus leading to lower burnout.
Methods:
In order to test the hypotheses, a multiple regression analysis using the bootstrapping method was used.
Results:
Based on a questionnaire administered to 117 correctional officer newcomers who had a formal mentor assigned, our results confirm that formal mentoring exerts a positive influence on newcomers' adjustment, and that this in turn exerts a protective influence against burnout onset by reducing cynicism and interpersonal stress and also enhancing the sense of personal accomplishment.
Conclusions:
Confirming previous literature's suggestions, supportive mentoring and effective socialization seem to represent job and personal resources that are protective against burnout. This study provides empirical support for this relation in the prison context.
Background:
The Job demand control support model (JDCS) is one of the most widely used theoretical models relating job characteristics to health and wellbeing.
Objective:
This study aimed to assess the predictive power of the JDCS model for determining job satisfaction and fatigue in uniformed Swedish police. An additional aim was to determine if predictive power of the model would be improved with the addition of two occupation specific items.
Methods:
Questionnaire data, based upon the Swedish Work Environment Survey were collected from Swedish police (n = 4244). A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was run to explore the predictive value of the model and to determine if the additional variables improved predictive power with respect to job satisfaction and fatigue.
Results:
Regression analysis demonstrated that the JDSC model had high predictive power in relation to job satisfaction and fatigue. Job demands was the strongest predictor of fatigue (14%), while support was the strongest predictor of job satisfaction (12%). The addition of exposure to threats significantly improved predictive power for both job satisfaction and fatigue, while addition of shift work did not significantly affect predictive power of the model.
Conclusions:
Workplace interventions to address issues related to job satisfaction and fatigue in police should focus on maintaining a bearable level of job demands and provision of adequate support.
Background:
Emergency and protective services personnel (e.g., police, ambulance, fire-fighters, defence, prison and security officers) report elevated levels of job stress and health problems. While population-level research is lacking, there has been some research suggesting suicide rates may be elevated in emergency and protective services.
Objectives:
This paper compares suicide rates between emergency and protective services occupational groups over a 12-year period (2001-2012) in Australia.
Method:
Labour force data was obtained from the 2006 Australian Census. Suicide data was obtained from the National Coroners Information System (NCIS). Negative binomial regression was used to estimate the association between suicide and employment as an emergency or protective service worker (including prison and security officers) over the period 2001-2012, as compared to all other occupations. Information on suicide method was extracted from the NCIS.
Results:
The age-adjusted suicide rate across all emergency and protective service workers was 22.4 (95% CI 19.5 to 25.2) per 100,000 in males and 7.8 in females (95% CI 4.6 to 11.00), compared to 15.5 per 100,000 (95% CI 15.2 to 15.9) for males and 3.4 (95% CI 3.2 to 3.6) for females in other occupations. The highest risk by subgroup was observed among those employed in the defence force, prison officers, and ambulance personnel. The major method of death for all occupational groups was hanging.
Conclusions:
Our results clearly highlight the need for suicide prevention among emergency and protective service occupations.
The views of many personality psychologists have converged regarding the structure and concepts of personality.
Background:
Correctional officers (COs) are exposed to various factors likely to jeopardize their health and safety. Even if numerous studies have been focused on work-related stress among COs, few studies have been carried out in Italy.
Objective:
Indentify the work-related factors and comprehend how they negatively affect the COs' psychological health in the Italian penal system.
Methods:
A qualitative approach was employed. Twenty-eight COs employed in a detention block of an Italian jail were interviewed face-to-face. For the analyses of the text, Template Analysis technique was followed.
Results:
The analyses of the text highlighted six macro-categories and thirteen categories hierarchically linked to them: A) Intrinsic work-related factors with six categories: demanding contact with prisoners, high level of responsibility, health risks, critical events, lack of intellectual and social stimulation, and conflict value; B) Factors related to the type of contract and work organization: challenging working hours contrasted with social time, and relocation; C) Social factors: relationships with colleagues and hierarchy; D) Organizational factors: organizational injustice, E) External factors: negative social image; F) Physical environmental factors: physical structure of the prison building.
Conclusions:
The results indicated that COs are at high risk of stress. More specifically, the analyses highlighted that the most stressful part of the COs' job concerns their relationship with the inmates.
Purpose ‐ This work aims to summarize literature on police recruitment and retention and how changing conditions may affect these. It uses a bucket metaphor to conceptualize and present visually how these can interact with each other and create a dynamic police staffing challenge. Design/methodology/approach ‐ The literature review includes more than 150 works on police recruitment and retention, organized into discussions on the demand for police, the supply of police, and how systemic and episodic changes affect each. Findings ‐ Existing research suggests police agencies face a threefold challenge in meeting the demand for officers: attrition is likely to increase, sources of new recruits might be decreasing, and police responsibilities are expanding. Attrition might increase because of baby-boom generation retirements, military call-ups, changing generational expectations of careers, budget crises, and organizational characteristics. Sources of new recruits might be decreasing because of a decrease in the qualified applicant pool, changing generational preferences in selecting careers, increased competition for persons who might qualify as police officers, expanded skill requirements for police officers, uncompetitive benefits, and many of the organizational characteristics causing attrition. Policing responsibilities are expanding because of new roles in community policing, homeland security, and emerging crimes. Originality/value ‐ This work summarizes, as no other has previously, the extant research on police recruitment and retention. Many holes remain in the literature, but identifying the extant literature can help identify these and possible means to fill them. Reviewing the extant literature can also help agencies identify the proper lessons to face their own recruitment and retention challenges.
Data analysis can lead to innovative ways to address some of the most pressing criminal justice problems. Data collection and measurement, for example, supported the implementation of several successful crime-reduction strategies in recent decades. Ideally, data collection, measurement, and analysis could help police agencies develop evidence-based tenets of personnel management and planning as well as address problems of recruitment and retention. Police administrative data on these topics, however, have many problems, including incompleteness and inaccuracies. This article examines the extent of these as evident in a recent survey of large police agencies regarding personnel experiences and practices. It summarizes the issues that must be addressed for data analysis to yield insights on personnel issues.
Purpose
The current study aims to examine problematic behaviors of college students who identified policing as their career of choice.
Design/methodology/approach
A self‐report survey was administered and behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, arrest histories, and self‐reported criminality were identified in a sample of 874 undergraduate students, 171 of whom identified policing as their career goal.
Findings
Findings indicate that over 60 percent of students (including those interested in becoming police officers) engage in some level of problematic behavior. While policing students engaged in more excessive recent binge drinking, they had a lower rate of arrests and less other‐than‐marijuana drug use than other students.
Research limitations/implications
This research relies on self‐reported data and therefore under‐ or over‐reporting may occur. While the sample of policing students has similar characteristics to those of current police officers in terms of sex and race, generalizability issues from the entire sample may be present.
Practical implications
Findings suggest the importance of identifying and conveying information to students about problematic behaviors that may prohibit gainful employment. Recruitment implications are discussed for police departments as well as implications for areas of inquiry important for background hiring investigations.
Originality/value
The current research explores problematic behaviors of college students in the context of vocational restrictions that students may face from law enforcement agencies. Findings can better prepare students for such vocations and inform hiring agencies of the range of issues from this population of applicants.
This study investigated the relation of the "Big Five" personality di- mensions (Extraversion, Emotional Stability, Agreeableness, Consci- entiousness, and Openness to Experience) to three job performance criteria (job proficiency, training proficiency, and personnel data) for five occupational groups (professionals, police, managers, sales, and skilled/semi-skilled). Results indicated that one dimension of person- ality. Conscientiousness, showed consistent relations with all job per- formance criteria for all occupational groups. For the remaining per- sonality dimensions, the estimated true score correlations varied by occupational group and criterion type. Extraversion was a valid pre- dictor for two occupations involving social interaction, managers and sales (across criterion types). Also, both Openness to Experience and Extraversion were valid predictors of the training proficiency criterion (across occupations). Other personality dimensions were also found to be valid predictors for some occupations and some criterion types, but the magnitude of the estimated true score correlations was small (p < .10). Overall, the results illustrate the benefits of using the 5- factor model of personality to accumulate and communicate empirical findings. The findings have numerous implications for research and practice in personnel psychology, especially in the subfields of person- nel selection, training and development, and performance appraisal.
Psychological selection criteria for police officers have traditionally been part of a "screening out" model. This model has targeted for elimination from further consideration candidates with problems in one or more of the following areas: inability to tolerate stress; prejudicial attitudes toward ethnic minority groups, homosexuals, women, or the homeless; poor interpersonal relationships; poor judgment; disordered thought processes; and lack of impulse control. The screening out model is reviewed, including selected individual components and their effectiveness. Both positive and negative aspects of screening out problematic candidates are evaluated, along with the rationale for the development of an alternative, prosocial selection system that can be implemented using the assessment center approach.
Purpose
The purpose of the current study is to expand the existing knowledge base that seeks to determine which pre‐employment factors can predict which police candidates will successfully complete the training academy.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study were collected from application and personnel records of 503 police recruits accepted into the Baltimore County police academy. The dependent variable, success in the academy, was measured as a dichotomous variable (1=graduated; 0=not graduated). The independent variables were routine employment factors.
Findings
A key finding was that general work experience was better at predicting successful completion of the training academy than prior police experience and prior military experience.
Research limitations/implications
In this particular study it was determined that police recruits who had a prior arrest record or prior illegal drug use and also had prior work experience could successfully complete the police training academy. However, these results are limited to those police organizations that give individuals who had a negative encounter with law enforcement a second chance.
Originality/value
Few studies have examined the relationship between background characteristics and successful completion of the police training academy. This study broadens the understanding of the need for police applicants to have a solid record of general work experience.
Examines the research to date on police officer selection regarding psychological testing, job analysis, and selection interviews. Results from several psychological tests used in officer selection and evaluation are discussed, such as the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), the Eysenck Personality Inventory, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). It is concluded that (1) psychological testing should be complementary to other selection processes; (2) those conducting the selection interview have strong intuitive feelings, although the validity of the interview is unproven; and (3) job analysis results should be used as guidelines for the selection interview. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Although police selection procedures have been identified as necessary to the development of socially effective and responsive police agencies, the implication that such procedures are sufficient to this goal is criticized in the present article. It is argued that job performance criteria, embedded in the status quo of the prevailing police culture, inherently limit the ultimate utility of selection procedures. Therefore, prior to developing selection and job performance prediction procedures, which are at best palliative solutions to the problems of the police agency, it is necessary to address the more fundamental issues regarding social goals of a contemporary police agency. Such an analysis may suggest alternative ways of providing the services necessary to obtain these identified social goals. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Meta-analysis of the cumulative research on various predictors of job performance showed that for entry-level jobs there was no predictor with validity equal to that of ability, which had a mean validity of .53. For selection on the basis of current job performance, the work sample test, with mean validity of .54, was slightly better. For federal entry-level jobs, substitution of an alternative predictor would cost from $3.12 (job tryout) to $15.89 billion/year (age). Hiring on ability had a utility of $15.61 billion/year but affected minority groups adversely. Hiring on ability by quotas would decrease utility by 5%. A 3rd strategy—using a low cutoff score—would decrease utility by 83%. Using other predictors in conjunction with ability tests might improve validity and reduce adverse impact, but there is as yet no database for studying this possibility. (89 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The dimensional structure of the SCL-90, a multidimensional self-report symptom inventory, was subjected to a confirmatory empirical test with a sample of 1,002 psychiatric outpatients. A variation of factor analytic method termed a „Procrustes procedure” was utilized to compare the hypothesized nine-dimensional clinical-rational structure with the dimensional structure developed empirically. The hypothetical vs. empirical match was judged to be very good for eight of the nine dimensions, and moderate on the ninth and thereby makes a substantive contribution to the construct validity of the instrument.
Few studies had examined the stability of motivations for becoming a police officer over time, especially among minority and female officers. Moreover, research had not explored the links between original motivations and job satisfaction, a likely proxy measure of motivation fulfillment. The current research was a follow-up to Raganella and White (2004) who examined motivations among academy recruits in the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Using the same survey and analysis, this study re-examined motivations among officers from the same NYPD recruit class after six years on the job, and explored both motivation stability and the relationships among motivations and job satisfaction. Results suggested that motivations have remained highly stable over time, regardless of officer race/ethnicity and gender. Findings also suggested that White male officers were most likely to report low job satisfaction, and that there is a link between low satisfaction and unfulfilled motivations. Moreover, dissatisfied officers were much less likely to have expressed strong commitment to the profession through their original motivations, suggesting that low commitment up front may lead to low satisfaction later on. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for police departments, particularly with regard to recruitment and retention practices and efforts to achieve diversity.
The present study was focused on an evaluation of factorial invariance across gender for the primary symptom dimensions of the SCL-90-a multidimensional self-report symptom inventory. The argument is advanced that evidence of invariance across relevant subject parameters is an essential component of reliability for dimensional constructs. Findings indicated subtantial levels of invariance across gender for eight of the nine primary symptom dimensions of the SCL-90 with moderate levels for the ninth. The implications of invariance, for the SCL-90 in particular, and clinical measurement in general are related and discussed.
The present investigation was intended principally as a concurrent validation study for a new self-report symptom inventory: the SCL-90. A sample of 209 'symptomatic volunteers' served as subjects and were administered both the SCL-90 and the MMPI prior to participation in clinical therapeutic drug trials. The MMPI was scored for the Wiggins content scales and the Tryon cluster scales in addition to the standard clinical scales. Comparisons of the nine primary symptom dimensions of the SCL-90 with the set of MMPI scales reflected very high convergent validity for the SCL-90. Peak correlations were observed with like constructs on eight of the nine scales, with secondary patterns of correlations showing high interpretative consistency.
- R Lasheras-Ruiz
- B Perez-Eransus
- Jóvenes
Lasheras-Ruiz R, Perez-Eransus B. Jóvenes, desigualdades
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21 Lessons for the 21st Century
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