Stability Of Vocational Interests Research Articles

Stability of Vocational Interests During University Studies

Abstract: Students’ vocational interests can be described by Holland’s theory of occupational choice. Holland distinguishes six interest dimensions here: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. Although these attributes are relatively stable during adolescence, their stability increases dramatically during university studies. Because vocational interests are often a factor in career counseling and the choice of what to study, it is essential to investigate the extent to which they develop during the first years of college. This study examines the NEPS first-year student cohort to investigate the stability of students’ interests and aspirations. The paper analyzes 2,442 male and 3,435 female students who studied within one of six major study clusters and provided data about their vocational interests at Wave 1 (study entry) and Wave 9 (about 4.5 years later close to the end their studies). The study’s results show strong and highly significant correlations for all interest dimensions, as well as a high stability of students’ aspirations. The correlations were strongest for artistic interests and weakest for conventional interests and were distinguishable between most dimensions. Furthermore, the analyses showed notable differences with respect to gender and field of study. Further analyses went beyond a variable-centered towards a person-centered approach showing that students with a stable interest vector also displayed higher profile correlations and a higher person-environment fit. The analysis shows that 28% of the sample are still developing their interests. This indicates notable adaption processes during university time that should be factored into course design, career counseling, and further research.

Stability of Vocational Interests After Recent Spinal Cord Injury: Comparisons Related to Sex and Race

Krause JS, Ricks JM. Stability of vocational interests after recent spinal cord injury: comparisons related to sex and race. ObjectiveTo identify the stability of vocational interests first assessed during inpatient rehabilitation for spinal cord injury and again an average of 834.9 days postinjury to determine the extent to which stability of interest varies as a function of race and sex. DesignLongitudinal. SettingData were collected at a specialty hospital. ParticipantsAt enrollment, participants were a minimum of 16 years of age, were currently hospitalized for inpatient rehabilitation, were less than 6 months postinjury, had residual impairment after traumatic spinal cord injury, and were either white or black, and non-Hispanic. Participants (N=304) were assessed an average ± SD of 50±26.6 days after injury and again an average ± SD of 834.9±192.7 days postinjury (averaged 785.1d between assessments). InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasureThe Strong Interest Inventory, a 317-item vocational interests measure. ResultsA repeated-measures general linear model was used with 4 groups based on a combination of race and sex. Significant cohort by time interactions were observed on 4 general occupational themes (investigative, artistic, enterprising, and conventional). In nearly all cases, black women showed decreases in average interest scores compared with the other groups. There was a clear pattern of change in the direction of greater homogeneity of interests over time as measured by the range of theme scores between cohorts based on sex and race. Although changes in mean interest profiles varied as a function of sex and race, less consistent differences were observed when stability coefficients were the measure of change. ConclusionsThe direction and degree of change in mean scores for vocational interests was related to sex and race. With the exception of black women, vocational interests increased from baseline to follow-up.

Stability of vocational interests among the intellectually gifted from adolescence to adulthood: A 15-year longitudinal study.

A sample of 162 intellectually gifted adolescents (top 1%) were administered the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory at age 13. Fifteen years later, they were administered the Strong again. This study evaluated the intra- and interindividual temporal stability of the 6 RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) themes and the Strong's 23 Basic Interest Scales. Over the 15-year test-retest interval, RIASEC's median interindividual correlation for the 6 themes was .46; the median of all 162 intraindividual correlations was .57. Configural analyses of the most dominant theme at age 13 revealed that this theme was significantly more likely than chance to be either dominant or adjacent to the dominant theme at age 28--following RIASEC's hexagonal structure. For intellectually gifted individuals, it appears to be possible to forecast salient features of their adult RIASEC profile by assessing their vocational interests during early adolescence, but some RIASEC themes seem more stable than others.

Stability of vocational interests among the intellectually gifted from adolescence to adulthood: A 15-year longitudinal study.

Stability of vocational interests among the intellectually gifted from adolescence to adulthood: A 15-year longitudinal study.

Stability of Vocational Interests of Adolescents and Young Adults

Three research methods were used to determine the stability of interests of two groups with whom the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) frequently is used—adolescents and young adults. Each ...

Stability of vocational interests within nonprofessional occupations.

Stability of vocational interests within nonprofessional occupations.

The Stability of Vocational Interests Within Occupations Over Long Time Spans

Counselors and those responsible for the construction and maintenance of vocational interest inventories need to be aware of change in interest patterns over time within occupational groups. That issue is explored here for the SVIB by asking three questions: first, do the SVIB scales developed in the 1930's hold up in cross‐validations today? Answer: yes, they appear to. Second, when various SVIB scales have been revised, have the revised scales differed drastically from the originals? Answer: not much; in a few instances, there has been no change whatsoever. Third, do the people who today hold exactly the same jobs as those held by Strong's criterion groups of the 1930's have the same interest patterns as the original group? Answer: yes, at least in one occupation, i.e., bankers. Further speculation suggests that men with similar interest patterns have sifted into similar occupations throughout recorded history.