Abstract
The problem for this investigation was to clarify relationships among responses to manifest variables by using scores on theoretical latent variables. The Meaning and Value of Work Scale, part I: Meaning of Work, was administered to 482 high school students enrolled in their first year of a vocational education program in Alabama. Polychoric correlations and asymptotic variance and covariance matrices were computed with PRELIS for the 40 meaning of work items. Three latent variables, Self-Actualization, Independence, and Societal were identified for the study. Results are reported on an unweighted least squares analysis. Phi of .81 was obtained between Independence and Societal with a corresponding t-value exceeding 20. The total coefficient of determination (reliability) for the manifest Self-Actualization variable was .85, for the manifest Independence and Societal variables, .96, and for the structural equations, .89. Results indicated that an individual's attitudes toward independence and society in a work-related context may contribute to one's work-oriented self actualization.
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