Date of Submission

12-21-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Psychology

Advisor

Anne Li Kringen, Ph.D.

Keywords

Women in Policing, Police Recruits, Gender, Police Academy

LCSH

Policewomen, Police recruits, Gender, Equality

Abstract

Research has found that male and female law enforcement recruits complete academy training at different rates, with female recruits typically completing at lower rates than male recruits. While the literature on the topic demonstrates a variety of training characteristics that explain some of the difference, it is possible that typical personality differences between men and women play a role in some of the unexplained disparities in academy passing rates. This study attempted to discern differences between personality characteristics among male and female academy recruits using survey data from two major metropolitan law enforcement academies. It was hypothesized that male cadets would score higher than female cadets in personality traits that contribute to positive outcomes in the academy. The results demonstrated statistical evidence that women felt they had to exert more effort than men and felt less support than men from both their supervisors and from their families. However, the majority of personality constructs examined exhibited no significant differences between male and female cadets. Future research should further investigate differences in effort and support between male and female cadets to better understand differences in rates of completion of academy training.

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