In the field of career development, there is an acknowledged relationship between career assessment and career counseling. Traditional career assessment and more recent narrative approaches to career counseling are perceived as having an uneasy relationship because of their different philosophical bases. A sustainable future story for the field…

This study examined gender differences in relationships among vocational skills, motivational approaches, and same-gender and cross-gender interests for urban adolescents. Results showed gender differences in interests, with males having greater Realistic interests and females having greater Artistic and Social interests, based on Holland's (1997)…

Holland influenced practice and research in career development by contributing a clear theory useful in organizing information about individuals and career alternatives and for understanding individuals' entry and persistence in occupational and other environments. His theory was repeatedly revised in response to evidence. As Holland's own career…

The study used the Self-Directed Search (SDS) and the NEO-FFI to explore profile elevation, four secondary constructs, and the Big Five personality factors in a sample of college students in a career course. Regression model results showed that openness, conscientiousness, differentiation high-low, differentiation Iachan, and consistency accounted…

Developed criteria for selection of career development program appropriate for mentally ill. Mentally ill persons who participated in Self-Directed Search (SDS) showed significant change on My Vocational Situation Identity Scale. Findings support selection of SDS as program and feasibility of offering career development services to mentally ill.…

The Self Directed Search was recently revised (Form R) after two tests: a version with 70 new items was administered to 701 people to identify good and bad items, and 2,600 students and adults completed the final Form R. The Occupations Finder was revised, and a technical manual and professional user's guide were created. (SK)

Effects of career interventions on vocational construct differentiation and integration were tested with 121 undergraduates in 4 groups: Vocational Card Sort (n=31), Self-Directed Search (n=28), System of Interactive Guidance and Information Plus (n=31), and controls (n=31). All three interventions had a substantial impact on vocational cognitive…

This study explored the differences on variables of satisfaction, self-concept, self-acceptance, and vocational maturity between freshmen students who made congruent and incongruent occupational choices. Findings suggest that subjects in the congruent male group tend to report better maintenance of personal stability and greater satisfaction than…

This study, using the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) and the Self-Directed Search (SDS), explored concurrent validity of Holland's theory for employed non-college-degreed women (N=114). Results revealed three scales of the VPI and five scales of the SDS successfully differentiated occupational groups consistent with Holland's theoretical…

Investigated occupational level differences among men and women employed in Enterprising environments using the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) and the Self Directed Search (SDS). All workers (N=84) were employed in Enterprising environments. Findings showed high occupational level workers tend to be more differentiated and more masculine…

Tested whether scores on the Self Directed Search relate to career development needs in a study of 138 college students. Findings showed the scores related differentially in ways predicted by Holland (1973) and supported probing whether college students earning low investigative scores were behind in their career development. (JAC)

Use of the Self-Directed Search: Computer Version Form R (SDS) with 180 clients (62% women and 38% men, between the ages of 18 and 23) in a college career center is described, with implications for counseling services and research. (Author/KW)

Career status measures, goals for participating in career intervention, and ego strength were related to six outcomes of the administration of the Self-Directed Search. Most change occurred for females high on vocational identity; most satisfaction with the SDS and job choice was attained by those low in indecision. (Author)

Computed four derivatives of the Self-Directed Search (SDS) and correlated them with other indices of career maturity for 138 community college students. Accuracy in estimating one's SDS profile correlated significantly with five other maturity indices, but the other derivatives tended not to relate to other career maturity criteria. (JAC)

Trait-factor theory, developmental/self-concept theory, personality theory, and behavioral theory are some of the major theories of career development. The first three (trait-factor, developmental/self-concept, and personality) have ties to the gestalt school because of the emphasis on the individual's relationship to the environment. Anne Roe's…