In accordance with Texas Occupations Code, persons applying for a Level III or IV license as a Personal Protection Officer must have successfully completed a psychological test, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, administered and reviewed by a licensed psychologist reviews the results of the test. eviews the results of test. Upon successful completion of the test, the psychologist provides a signed Declaration of Emotional Health.
(PSP13)

The MMPI questionnaire has several hundred statements that require a “true” or “false” response. Completion of the test takes most persons about one hour to complete. It could be somewhat more or less time than that. A brief interview will follow during which you will learn the results of the test. If test results are either invalid or raise significant concern about “goodness of fit” for the requirements of the license, you will have to retake the test at another time.

Successful completion is the judgment of the psychologist who reviews the test results. At our office that means a “clinical profile” that is essentially within “normal” limits. That is, areas of concern would be more extreme that of 75% to 80% of the general population. This does not necessarily mean that the person has a mental disorder. It means there is significant concern about psychological functioning and behavior that is inconsistent with the responsibilities required for the licensed job, whether that is Personal Protection Officer, Firefighter, or Police Officer.

Tests are sometimes not successfully completed because test result are invalid, that is they are distorted due to the test-taker’s style of answering the question. This most often happens because a person has described themselves in an overly positive manner that is well beyond that of the average person. The person is overly concerned about “looking good” on the test and does not acknowledge experiencing feelings, thoughts, or behaviors that most persons sometimes experience in their lives. Therefore, it is important to be truthful, straightforward, and open in answering questions

We recognize that persons taking these tests have a lot at stake and the results of this test is important to them. This is common in fitness for duty and pre-employment evaluations for public safety personnel and when reviewing the results of such tests, we take that into consideration.

A large majority of persons are successful in their completion of the test because they recognize that a person sometimes experiences thoughts and feelings, or act in ways that might be of some concern to themselves or others. Therefore, it is important to be open and honest when answering whether something is “true” or “false” for you.

Additional Information

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