Personality patterns among correctional officer applicants

The MMPI profiles of 359 correctional officer applicant were cluster analyzed, which resulted in the identification of five relatively homogeneous subgroups. While MMPI performance was not related to later events in the correctional careers of the Ss, certain similarities were noted between the officer group and two samples of inmates previously studied in a comparable fashion. In this respect, although the officers manifested generally lower profile elevations than inmates, configural similarities were noted between the average inmate and the officer profiles, and partial overlap was seen between the profile types identified in the two groups. The implications of the findings for occupationally adaptive and maladaptive correctional officer behavior were discussed.