title: The structure of vocational interests in Romania.
abstract: Using data provided by the Self-Directed Search (SDS) on a sample of 1,519 participants comprising 3 subsamples containing high school students, university students, and working adults, the authors examine the structure of vocational interests in Romania. Three competing structural models of vocational interests (Holland's circumplex model and Gati's and Rounds and Tracey's hierarchical models) are analyzed with 3 different approaches: (a) frequency analysis of 2-letter codes, (b) randomization test of hypothesized order relations, and (c) structural equation modeling. The stability of the structure of vocational interests across age is also analyzed. The findings suggest mixed evidence for the 3 models, with Holland's model receiving more support from structural equation modeling, and Gati's and Rounds and Tracey's models receiving more support from the frequency analysis of 2-letter codes. The data conclusively show that the structure of vocational interests becomes clearer with age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, National School of Political and Administrative Studies Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania. dragos.iliescu@testcentral.ro
authors.forename: Dragos
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Iliescu
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ispas
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ilie
authors.forename: Andrei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ion
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001240:Aspirations, Psychological; D002321:Career Choice; D002648:Child; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010551:Personality; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012383:Romania; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014830:Vocational Guidance; D055815:Young Adult