NTL Record

Title Screening Air Traffic Control Specialists With the MMPI-2: Two New Scales to Increase Predictive Utility
Record ID 81901
Personal Name
Creator
Greene, Roger L; Nichols, David S; Front, Chris M; King, Raymond E.
Corporate Creator United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Corporate
Contributor
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Office of Aerospace Medicine
Publisher United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Publication Date 20210201
Language English
Abstract The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory – 2 (MMPI-2) for the psychological screening of Air Traffic Control Specialists (ATCSs) in January 2008 after a research effort at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) involving 1,014 participants. Subsequently, norms were compiled for the first 5,500 ATCS candidates who took the MMPI-2 as a screening test for operational purposes. This report examines the operational use of the MMPI-2 from 2008 to 2020. During that time, the FAA administered the MMPI-2 to a total of 20,385 ATCS candidates. The present study had two goals: (1) To recalculate MMPI-2 operational norms with the larger ATCS candidate sample in order to discover whether any updates to those norms were needed, and (2) to empirically examine the MMPI-2 scales that have most frequently resulted in referrals for further psychological assessment with the aim of reducing the number of such referrals by improving the predictive utility of the MMPI-2 screenings. A reduction in false positive findings at the time of screening, without increasing false negatives, would reduce the number of referrals for complete psychological assessments, thereby maintaining aviation safety while contributing to a more efficient and cost-effective overall medical clearance process for ATCS candidates. The operational norms remain virtually unchanged. The resulting scales, FAA-L and FAA-RCTY, will serve to identify those applicants whose pattern of item endorsement warrants a closer review and will be adjusted as operational experience with them accumulates.
Rosap ID dot:57222
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/57222
TRT Terms Air traffic controllers; Aviation safety; Medical examinations and tests; Personnel management; Psychological tests; Selection and appointment
Geographical
Coverage
United States
TRIS Online
Accession No
1778899
Report Number DOT/FAA/AM-21/03
Resource type Tech Report
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/81000/81900/81901/202103.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository