Psychological Reports, 1990, 66, 851-856. O Psychological Reports 1990

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS AND SKILLS AS MEASURED BY T H E H I G H SCHOOL PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRE AND T H E LEADERSHIP SKILLS INVENTORY ' FRANCES A. KARNES AND VICTOR R. D'ILIO

Universiiy of Southern Misrrssrppr Summary.-The correlations among the subscales on the High School Personality Questionnaire and the Leadership Skills Inventory, estimated for 95 smdent leaders, were numerous, significant, and positive but of small magnitude. Several significant differences were found between boys and girls.

The personality characteristics of secondary school students designated as gifted and talented have been the topic of recent investigations. Intellectually gifted secondary youth with intelhgence quotients of 130 and above were studied by Chauvin and Karnes (1983), and those students of similar grades identified as outstanding in the fine and performing arts were studied by Karnes, Chauvin, and Trant (1985). Student leaders of junior and senior high school age were the focus of a study conducted by Karnes and D'Ilio (1989). In each of the studies the High School Personahty Questionnaire (Cattell, Cattell, &Johns, 1984) was given to measure the personality attributes. In the studies of leadership by adults, personality characteristics have actively contributed to leadership abilities; see M c C d and Lombardo (1978) for a review. A computer search yielded no citations on the relations of personality characteristics and the specific concepts and skills which need to be developed by students for roles as leaders. The purpose of the study was to explore the relations between personality characteristics and concepts and skills necessary for leadership development in students.

Subjects The subjects were 53 girls and 42 boys attending the Leadership Studies Program, a 1-wk. summer residential instructional program on a university campus. There were 27 sixth graders, 17 in Grade 7, 25 in Grade 8, 13 in Grade 9, 8 in Grade 10, and 5 in Grade 11. The students were nominated by school personnel to attend the program based on their desire to develop and/or enhance their leadership potential. Although achievement and intelti'Address correspondence to Dr. Frances A. Karnes, Department of Special Education, University of Southern Mississippi, PO. Box 5115, Southern Station, H a t t i e s b q , MS 39406-5115.

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gence test scores were not used for admission, the data submitted by the school indicated that students were above average or superior in performance on both types of measures.

Instruments and Procedures The instruments administered to the students in the study were the High School Personality Questionnaire and the Leadership Skills Inventory. The High School Personality Questionnaire (Cattell, Cattell, & Johns, 1984) is a self-report instrument which measures 14 primary and 11 secondary personality factors. I t is appropriate for students who are 12 to 18 yr. of age and takes approximately 45 to 60 min. to administer. The Leadership Skills Inventory (Karnes & Chauvin, 1985) is a self-report instrument which measures nine areas for leadership development: fundamentals of leadership, written communication, speech communication, values clarification, planning, group dynamics, problem solving, personal development, and decision making. The areas were identified through an analysis of the literature on adult leaders. Reliabilities are reported in the manual (Karnes & Chauvin, 1985) and validity studies have also been conducted (Karnes & D'fio, 1988a, 1988b). The purpose of the instrument is to assess diagnostically the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the students' leadership concepts and skills, and the results serve to prescribe the instructional program. The two inventories were given by an examiner experienced in the administration of these instruments. The Leadership Skills Inventory was administered on the first day of the program and the High School Personality Questionnaire on the fourth day. The former was hand-scored and the latter was machine-scored. RESULTS The means and standard deviations for girls and boys on each of the Leadership Skills Inventory subscale scores and for each of the High School Personality Questionnaire factors and second-order factors are given in Table 1. The t ratios for comparison of mean scores are also included in the table. Several significant differences were observed between girls and boys ( p < .05). Girls scored significantly higher on the Values Clarification subscale of the Leadershp Skills Inventory. They also scored significantly higher on the High School Personality Questionnaire Factor C (Emotional Stability), Factor E (Dominance), and on Independence, a secondary factor. The Pearson correlations between the High School Personality Questionnaire factors and the Leadership Skills Inventory subscales are presented in Table 2. As indicated, there are numerous significant correlations ( p < .05). Positive correlations were all in the low to moderate range. Scores on Factor A (Warmth) were correlated with Written Communication Skills, Speech Communication Skills, Group Dynamic Skills, Personal Development

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ADOLESCENTS: PERSONALITY, LEADERSHIP

TABLE 1 M N S , STANDARD DEVIATIONS,AND 1 RATIOS FORSUBSCALE SCORESO N LEADERSHIP SKILLSINVENTORY AND FACTORS (STENSCORES)OF HIGHSCHOOL PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIREFOR BOYSAND GIRLSIN LEADERSHIP STUDIESPROGRAM Variable

AII Subjects M SD

Boys

M

SD

Girls

M

t*

SD

1.

Fundamentals of Leadership Written Communication Skills 3. Speech Communication Skills 4. Values Clarification 5. Decision-making Skills 6. Group Dynamic Skills 7. Problem-solving Skills 8. Personal Dwelopment Skills 9. Planning Skills 10. A Warmth 11. B Intelligence 12. C Emotional Stability 13. D Excitability 14. E Dominance 15. F Cheerfulness 16. G Conformity 17. H Boldness 18. I Sensitivity 19. J Withdrawal 20. 0 Apprehension 21. Q, Self-sufficiency 22. Q, Self-discipline 23. Q, Tension 24. Extraversion 25. Anxiety 26. Tough Poise 27. Independence 28. Delinquency 29. Accident Proneness 30. Creativity 31. Leadership Potential 32. School Achiwement 33. Vocational Growth 34. Vocational Success ' p = .05. 2.

Skills, and Planning Skills. Factor C (Emotional Stability) was correlated with aU of the Leadership Skills Inventory subscales. Factor E (Dominance) was correlated with Speech Communication Skills, Decision-making Skills, Problem-solving Skills, Personal Development Skills, and Planning Skills. Factor G (Conformity) was positively correlated with all of the Leadership Skills Inventory subscales except for Problem-solving Skills. Factor H (Bold-

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F. A . KARNES & V. R. D'ILIO

ness) was correlated with all Leadership Skills Inventory subscales. Factor I (Sensitivity) was correlated with Written Communication Skills, Personal Development Skills, and Planning Skills. Factor Q, (Self-discipline) was correlated with Decision-making Skills, Group Dynamic Skills, Personal Development Skills, and Planning Skills. Several of the second-order factors also correlated positively with the Leadership Skills Inventory subscales. Tough Poise was correlated with Problem-solving Skills. Independence was correlated with Written Communication Skills, Speech Communication Skills, Decision-making Skills, Problem-solving Skills, and Planning Skills. TABLE 2

High School Personality Questionnaire Factorsf

$

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Primary Factors

.284 ,012 ,409 -.057 .386 .032 ,346 -.037 ,406 -.070 ,312 -.072 ,256 ,077 ,304 -.lo9 ,382 -.079

,149-,071 ,176 ,144 -.047 ,262 ,178 ,045 ,266 ,075 -.081 ,193 ,288 -.034 .202 ,097 .057 ,257 ,211 -.016 ,120 ,210 ,060 ,305 ,182 -.028 ,351

,255 ,364 ,394 .243 ,267 .351 ,224 ,379 ,419

Secondary Factors

'For values of .17or larger, p < .05. tSee Table 1 for identification of the variables. $Leadership Skills Inventory.

Control was correlated with all of the Leadership Skills Inventory subscales. Leadership potential was correlated with all of the Leadership Skills Inventory subscales except for Decision-making Skills and Problem-solving Skills. School achievement correlated with Group Dynamic Skills and Problem-solving Skills. Vocational growth correlated with scores on all of the Leadershp Skills Inventory subscales except Values Clarification.

ADOLESCENTS: PERSONALITY, LEADERSHIP

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Negative correlations, also in the low to moderate range, were also noted (p

Correlations between personality and leadership concepts and skills as measured by the High School Personality Questionnaire and the Leadership Skills Inventory.

The correlations among the subscales on the High School Personality Questionnaire and the Leadership Skills Inventory, estimated for 95 student leader...
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