Stability of Self-Descriptive Holland Types and Career Indecision

Abstract

This study examines the stability of self-descriptive Holland types over a 2-month period. Participants were 88 men and 207 women college-student volunteers who rank-ordered descriptions of the six Holland types based on the degree to which they were self- descriptive. They then responded to the Occupational Alternatives Question and the Career Decision Scale. Two months later they responded to the same materials again. Participants were divided into three groups based on the Iachan index ratings of the agreement between their self-descriptive Holland types over 2 months. There were no statistically significant differences between these groups on career decidedness and career indecision. Women whose self- descriptive Holland types changed the most had more difficulty relating their Holland types to occupations than did women whose self-descriptive Holland types changed the least. The results are discussed with their implications for career counseling and future research.