Stability and change in interests: A longitudinal examination of grades 7 through college

Hui Xu, Terence Tracey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

The joint issue of stability and change of interests in adolescence and early adulthood was investigated longitudinally over three years in three different grade cohorts. The patterns of structural stability, mean stability, rank order stability, and profile stability as well as how these patterns were moderated by gender were examined based on three cohorts of grades 7 and 8 (n = 3191), grades 9 and 10 (n = 6818), and grades 11 and 12 (n = 1078) using the Personal Globe Inventory-Short (Tracey, 2010). Results indicated that adherence to the RIASEC circular model was high and stable; there was a lack of appreciable change in interest means; interests were stable; interest crystallization, profile, and pattern were stable. While the results supported late adolescence and early adulthood being a stable period for interests in general, more changes were found among male and younger students. The implication of the current study was discussed along with its limitations and suggestions for future research.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)129-138
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Vocational Behavior
Volume93
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2016

Keywords

  • Interest development
  • Interest stability
  • Interests in adolescence and early adulthood
  • Longitudinal examinations of interests

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Applied Psychology
  • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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