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A Comparison Of The Career Assessment Inventory And The Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory In A Minority, High School Drop-Out Sample

Author

David Stanton Halferty, University of the Pacific

Date of Award

1985

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Edward Pohlman

First Committee Member

John V. Schippers

Second Committee Member

RIchard L. Perry

Third Committee Member

Robert R. Hopkins

Fourth Committee Member

Joseph L. Anastasio

Abstract

Problem. The Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII), an inventory with some validity, was directed at the professionally oriented client. The Career Assessment Inventory (CAI) appeared in 1976 as an inventory normed on the non-professional, blue-collar worker, directed at the non-baccalaureate student. There had been little research on minority, non-college oriented youth. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare the predictive and concurrent validity of these two inventories for a drop-out, non-college oriented population. These inventories were compared for predictive validity to short-term occupational outcome, and for concurrent validity to Expressed Interest. Also, the distribution of interests across the six RIASEC themes was compared.

Procedure. For the years 1977-1981, participants in the High School Equivalency Program, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, were interviewed to ascertain their Expressed Interests and were given either the SCII or the CAI during the first three weeks of program attendance. Following graduation, short-term occupational outcome data, or college major (if there was no occupation) were recorded. Chi-square was used to compare the inventories on hit-rates for short-term occupational outcome. Findings. No significant differences were found in the predictive validity of the CAI and the SCII to short-term occupational outcome, using inventory scale scores, expressed interest, consistency, differentiation, and cross-scale congruence, with this specific population. The distribution of interests across the six RIASEC themes of the inventories showed significant differences at the .05 level. The distributions of RIASEC categories were significantly different (.01 level) for men versus women. On the CAI, a greater proportion fell in the Conventional theme for males; the Social and Enterprising themes for females. For the SCII, a greater proportion fell in the Artistic theme for males; the Realistic and Conventional themes for females.

Recommendations. This study should be replicated using long-term follow-up data with minority, non-professionally oriented populations.

Pages

139

Recommended Citation

Halferty, David Stanton. (1985). A Comparison Of The Career Assessment Inventory And The Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory In A Minority, High School Drop-Out Sample. University of the Pacific, Dissertation. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/3221