The NEO PI-R as a Premorbid Baseline Measure

Abstract

Abstract : The United States Air Force (USAF) uses measures of personality based on the model when psychologically assessing pilots. The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R), a Big Five measure, includes Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness and is used as the operational assessment tool when considering issues of suitability. This study compared data from a large USAF pilot sample to the nationally representative normative population to support the use of both sets of norms in clinical evaluation. Specifically, this study examined differences in descriptive statistics, correlations, and factor structures between the sample from USAF pilots and the commercially published norms. Comparisons using gender norms were made in addition to comparisons using combined norms. An initial sample of 12,702 USAF pilot training candidates was administered the NEO PI-R prior to the 53 weeks of Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training. All USAF pilot training candidates were either college graduates or enrolled in college and nearing graduation; many had private pilot licenses or had completed some portion of private pilot license training including flight hours in light aircraft. Results demonstrated that the factor structures were similar, indicating that the test is measuring the personality constructs of interest. Correlations among the domain scores were different, and the means for some domain and facet scores were different, indicating that the pilot sample should be considered in addition to national norms for clinical evaluation. These important differences argue for the compilation of a comprehensive set of pilot norms to be used by clinicians performing personality assessments of pilots.