Abstract
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.
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