An Examination of the Big Five, Mental Illness Stigma, and Crisis Intervention Training

Abstract

The number of individuals incarcerated with mental illness continues to grow, and correctional officers may play a critical role in rehabilitation. A correlation analysis was conducted between Big Five personality traits and mental illness stigma to determine whether there is a significant relationship in a sample of state correctional officers who participated in Crisis Intervention Training. A mixed model ANOVA was also conducted to assess whether personality traits impacted levels of mental illness stigma following completion of the training. A moderate negative correlation was found between agreeableness and mental illness stigma. All other findings were not clinically significant, potentially due to the study’s limitations. Future research is necessary to continue to address the gap in the research regarding personality and mental illness stigma amongst correctional officers