Predicting Correctional Officer Job Performance Using the Critical Hire-Screen and Personality Assessment Inventory: An Analysis of Incremental Validity

Abstract

This article measured the degree to which the Critical Hire-Screen (CH-S), a pre-employment test of integrity, and Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), a test of psychopathology, correlated with and predicted supervisor ratings of correctional officer job performance. Results revealed that the CH-S provided the strongest correlation with, and prediction of, job performance. Although PAI subscales contributed to the prediction model, relatively few subscales were ultimately selected, resulting in the CH-S explaining the majority of the variance. Implications for correctional agencies and pre-employment evaluators are discussed, and recommendations for the practical application of these results to pre-employment testing process are provided.