Citation

Forero CG, Gallardo-Pujol D, Maydeu-Olivares A, Andrés-Pueyo A. Crim. Justice Behav. 2009; 36(6): 591-606.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0093854809333406

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests that the performance of police officers depends on individual dispositions. Although predictive studies of police performance using personality measures often focus on academy training, in this study the authors fitted a longitudinal structural equation model to examine the predictive validity of the training process for actual performance after graduation. To do so, the authors used behavioral and self-reported personality measures as predictors in a sample of 2,010 police candidates enrolled at the Catalan Institute for Public Safety. While academic qualifications alone predicted 27.3% of performance variance, the predictive power was greatly improved when training was included as a mediator of personal dispositions. The full final model accounted for 60% of performance variance.

RESULTS suggest that actual job performance is indeed influenced by personality, but that this influence is mediated by training.

Language: en