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An Examination of Authoritarian Personality Traits among Police Officers: The Role of Experience

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology volume 25, pages 99–104 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

This study compared authoritarian traits as determined by MMPI-2 scores between inexperienced versus experienced police officers. The purpose of this comparison was to investigate whether experienced police officers possessed higher levels of authoritarian traits which may be related to years on the job. Results found that inexperienced and experienced police officers tend to be psychologically healthy and do not possess high levels of authoritarian traits. Some specific differences emerged with inexperienced police officers demonstrating higher scores on ASP (antisocial practices) but lower scores on HY (emotional reactions to stress). Possible reasons for these results are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA, USA

    Louis Laguna, Kyle Ward & Rasa Rupslaukyte

  2. Millersville University, Millersville, PA, USA

    Ashley Linn

Authors
  1. Louis Laguna
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  2. Ashley Linn
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  3. Kyle Ward
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  4. Rasa Rupslaukyte
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Correspondence to Louis Laguna.

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Laguna, L., Linn, A., Ward, K. et al. An Examination of Authoritarian Personality Traits among Police Officers: The Role of Experience. J Police Crim Psych 25, 99–104 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-009-9060-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-009-9060-0

Keywords

  • Police
  • Authoritarianism
  • MMPI-2
  • Level of experience