Iva Šverko

The Validity of Holland's Theory in Croatia.

The validity of Holland’s theory in the Croatian sample has been tested. The Croatian version of Holland’s Self-Directed Search was applied on 1,866 Croatian adolescents from different age samples. The instrument has shown a good reliability of all RIASEC scales in all subsamples. Construct validity was also verified: The presence of circular structure of RIASEC types and two underlying dimensions was mostly confirmed, and hypothesized relations between RIASEC types and value orientations were found. Concurrent validity shows that on the basis of Holland’s RIASEC scores one can predict the educational program in which the student is enrolled. The results support the validity of Holland’s theory in the Croatian sample.

Assessment of Values and Role Salience

This chapter examines the methodological issues associated with the measurement of values and role salience and reviews representative measures that have been used in their assessment. The authors begin by explaining the concepts of roles and role salience and the constructs of life values and work roles, and reviewing taxonomies of values. Assessment approaches, measurement techniques and related methodological problems are then considered. Existing inventories for assessment of values and role salience are briefly described. The conclusion discusses the use of values and role salience assessment in career guidance.

Career Maturity Indicators in Adolescence: Convergence of Different Measures

Career maturity is a multidimensional construct that represents an individual’s ability to cope with career construction tasks during a particular period of life. In adolescence, a simple indicator of career maturity is the existence of a clear career choice and a commitment to a specific career. Holland’s theory proposed that differentiation and consistency of vocational interests also reflect career maturity, as individuals with differentiated and consistent interests have fewer difficulties in career decision-making and are therefore more likely to express high career maturity. However, the majority of studies have found very weak or negligible correlations between career maturity and differentiation, or between career maturity and consistency of interests. In this study, along with traditional measures of differentiation and consisteny, we used newmeasures derived from the complete RIASEC profile of vocational interests based on the cosine function. Therefore, in this study we explored the relations between career maturity and three career-development constructs—differentiation, consistency of interests, and profile elevation—using both traditional and new measures. We assessed a sample of 568 adolescents in the final year of secondary school (age 17–18) with the Personal Globe Inventory, the Career Choice Clarity Scale, and the Student Career Construction Inventory through an online testing platform. Our results indicate generally low and unsubstantial correlations between various measures of career maturity and measures of differentiation, as well as low correlations between career maturity and consistency. Correlations between measures of career maturity and profile elevation are also low. The results of this study suggest that Holland’s secondary constructs are unrelated to measures of career maturity.

The Validity of Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire in Croatia

The aim of this study was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Croatian paper-and-pencil and Internet versions of the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ). The CDDQ is based on the theoretical taxonomy of difficulties in career decision-making and comprises three major clusters of difficulties: Lack of readiness, lack of information, and inconsistent information that are further divided into 10 specific types of difficulties. The paper-and-pencil version and the Internet version were filled out by 451 and 568 high school students, respectively. Both versions of the Croatian CDDQ showed to be reliable and structurally equivalent measures. A hierarchical cluster analysis and confirmatory factor analysis generally supported the three-cluster classification system of career decision-making difficulties, with the exception of the Dysfunctional Beliefs Scale that was not significantly associated with any of the other scales. The associations between the CDDQ Scales on the one hand, and two measures of career maturity—Student Career Construction Inventory and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale—were moderate and negative and thus supported the concurrent validity of the CDDQ. The results suggest revising the dysfunctional beliefs subscale or using the CDDQ without this scale in counseling practice.

The Theoretical Background of Computer Assisted Career Guidance Systems

The paper examines modern computer-assisted career guidance systems, their main characteristics, as well as their theoretical foundation. First we describe the development of systems for computer-assisted career guidance, with the emphasis on the current generation of on-line counseling systems. Then the concept of congruence or person-environment fit is explained: the individuals who have chosen careers which are in accordance with their personal characteristics are more likely to be both satisfied with their jobs and successful at work. Although the concept of congruence is the main basis of theories of vocational choice and computer-assisted career guidance systems, the results of all important meta-analyses show a weak relationship between P-E congruence and job satisfaction. Possible explanations for this finding are identified and the aspect- -based approach is presented as a possible solution. Finally, seven best-known on-line systems for vocational counseling are described: Discover, SIGI, O*Net, Making Better Career Decisions, Careers Guide, Career Choice and Pictorial and Descriptive Interest Inventory.