Dimensional Continuity of Interests and Activities during Adolescence

Abstract

Dimensional continuity was examined longitudinally at grades 7,9, and 11 using an inventory of social, academic and recreational activities administered to male and female dents. Indices indicating degree of factor presence, overall similarity of loading patterns, and structural stability of factors shown to result in a transitional’ shift’ or discontinuity, its locus at the time of high school entry (i.e., 9th grade). Although the finding was applicable to either sex, the nature of the discontinuity differed, in terms of factor presence, for those activities customarily shown to be sex-linked (e.g., social achievements for females, sports activities for males). The demonstrated changes in dimensional configurations raise challenging issues for conventional longitudinal study practices that assume uniform interpretability of the same scales at differing developmental stages.

Iconographic Professional Interests Inventory (3IP): A New Validation Study

“…It is better to construct an instrument that includes activities relevant to children’s lives—activities which they engage in and have the necessary experience to accurately assess. For research in which interests have been assessed through familiar activities, the structure of interests in children has been found to differ from that of adults ( Dusek, Kermis, & Monge, 1979 ; Freeberg & Rock, 1973 ; Tyler, 1955 , 1956 ; Zbaracki, Clark, & Wolins, 1985 ).…”

Comparability of constructs across the adolescent years.

“…Differences in relations among behaviors at different life phases would be evidence of change in organization (cf. Freeberg & Rock, 1973, as an example of this approach with young and old adolescents). Another approach to the question of organization would be to examine the correlates of clinical problems (cf.…”

Children's interests in middle childhood

“…(2) Certain common factors emerge not only in the adult work (Strong, 1968;Kuder, 1977;Guilford et al, 1954), but in work with adolescents (Dusek et al, 1979;Freeberg and Rock, 1973) and even children as Tyler (1951) found differences in children who preferred outdoor play, indoor play, paper-pencil-crayon play or helping adults.…”

“…Dusek et al's (1979) research demon strates that children's interests change with age at a time that fits Piaget's theory. The research of Freeberg and Rock (1973) and Stone and Barker (.1939) also fits such a framework.…”

“…Ninth grade seems to be a transitional period for children's interests, with interests more similar in seventh compared to eleventh graders than in ninth graders (Freeberg and Rock, 1973). Most researchers agree measured interests tend to be stable after children reach eleventh grade (Strong, 1943;Kuder, 1977).…”