Public safety personnel, personality, and gender

Abstract

IntroductionPublic safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional employees, firefighters, paramedics, police, public safety communicators [PSC]) are regularly exposed to diverse risks; as such, PSP professions may attract and retain people with personalities that differ relative to each other and the general public. The current study provides the first detailed analyses of personality traits and gender differences among Canadian PSP. MethodsCanadian PSP (n = 4303) completed a web-based questionnaire including demographic items and the six-factor Brief HEXACO Inventory (BHI). A two-way MANOVA was conducted with individuals grouped by occupation and gender, and HEXACO personality scores entered as dependent variables. ResultsThere were significant (p < .01) effects of occupation (ηp2 = 0.008) and gender (ηp2 = 0.009) for the six personality factors, with a significant interaction effect (p < .01; ηp2 = 0.002). Occupational differences were most notable in terms of Emotionality, Extraversion, while few differences were found related to Honesty-Humility and Agreeableness. Women PSP were higher than men PSP on Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, and Agreeableness. PSP scored higher on Honesty-Humility and Extraversion than community and college samples. ConclusionSmall, but statistically significant, differences in personality traits were identified among PSP occupational groups and gender. The results indicate individuals who choose PSP occupations may share some personality traits.