The purpose of this study was to ascertain vocational interests and self-estimated work-relevant abilities of young adults with disabilities. Results showed that young adults with both low incidence and high incidence disabilities have a wide range of interests and self-estimated work-relevant abilities that are comparable to those in the general population. However, in this sample, less than 50% were employed in jobs that matched their Holland Theme interest/ability profiles. Suggestions for both employers and counselors to assist young adults with disabilities to work in employment that is satisfying and congruent with their vocational personalities are offered.
American College Testing. (2006). Research support for DISCOVER assessment components. Iowa City, IA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.act.org/discover/pdf/research_support.pdf
2.
American College Testing. (2008). DISCOVER Career Planning Program. Iowa City, IA: ACT, Inc.
3.
American College Testing. (2009). ACT interest inventory technical manual. Retrieved from http://www.act.org/research/researchers/pdf/ACTInterestInventoryTechnicalManual.pdf
4.
Aros, R.J., Henly, G.A., & Curtis, N.T. ( 1998). Occupational sextype and sex differences in vocational preference-measured interest relationships. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 53, 227-242. doi:10.1006/jvbe. 1997.1612.
5.
Bennett, M. ( 1997). Self-estimates of ability in men and women. Journal of Social Psychology, 137, 540-541. doi:10.1080/00224549709595475.
6.
Brown, S.D., Lent, R.W., & Gore, P.A. ( 2000). Self-rated abilities and self-efficacy beliefs: Are they empirically distinct? Journal of Career Assessment, 8, 223-235. doi:10.1177/106907270000800302.
7.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2006). Employment projections. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/emp/emptabapp.htm
8.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). Labor force statistics from the current population survey. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsdisability.htm
9.
Cummings, R.W., & Maddux, C.D. ( 1987). Holland personality types among learning disabled and nonlearning disabled high school students. Exceptional Children , 54, 167-170. http://www.cec.sped.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications2/ExceptionalChildren/default.htm
10.
Day, S.X., Rounds, J., & Swaney, K. ( 1998). The structure of vocational interests for diverse racial ethnic groups. Psychological Science, 9, 40-44. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00007.
11.
Dictionary of Occupational Titles (1999). Des Moines, IA: NOICC Crosswalk and Data Center.
12.
Flores, L.Y., Spanierman, L.B., Armstrong, P.I., & Velez, A.D. ( 2006). Validity of the strong interest inventory and skills confidence inventory with Mexican American high school students. Journal of Career Assessment, 14, 183-202. doi:10.1177/1069072705283760.
13.
Foster, G.D. ( 2001). Influences of self-estimates of ability, subjective task values, and socioeconomic status on choices of major for women and men in a university setting. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section A, 62, 472.
14.
Furnham, A., Clark, K., & Bailey, K. ( 1999). Sex differences in estimates of multiple intelligences . European Journal of Personality, 13, 247-259. doi:10.1002/%28SICI%291099-0984%28199907/08%2913:4% 3C247::AID-PER329%3E3.0.CO;2-7.
15.
Gati, I., Fishman-Nadav, Y., & Shiloh, S. ( 2006). The relations between preferences for using abilities, self-estimated abilities, and measured abilities among career counseling clients . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 24-28. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2005.04.002.
16.
Hicks, J. (April, 2002). 80% are misemployed ... How much is that costing the business?The Ansley Advisor. Retrieved from http://www.ansleygroup.com/id213.htm
17.
Hirschi, A., & Läge, D. ( 2007). Holland’s secondary constructs of vocational interests and career choice readiness of secondary students. Journal of Individual Differences, 28, 205-218. doi:10.1027/1614-0001. 28.4.205.
18.
Holland, J.L. ( 1968). Explorations of a theory of vocational choice: VI. A longitudinal study using a sample of typical college students. Journal of Applied Psychology Monograph Supplement, 52, 1-37.
19.
Holland, J.L. ( 1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
20.
HrTools. (2009). In what occupations with people with disabilities work? Retrieved from http://www.hrtools.com/resources/qa/in_what_occupations_do_people_with_disabilities_work.aspx
21.
Jagger, L., Neukrug, E., & McAuliffe, G. ( 1992). Congruence between personality traits and chosen occupation as a predictor of job satisfaction for people with disabilities. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 36, 53-60. http://rcb.sagepub.com/
22.
Jones, W.P. ( 1995). Holland vocational personality codes and people with visual disabilities: A need for caution. Re:View: Rehabilitation and Education for Blindness and Visual Impairment, 27, 53-63. http://heldref.metapress. com/app/home/journal.asp?referrer=parent&backto=linkingpublicationresults,1:119944,1&linkin=6341560 58463255000
23.
Lapan, R.A., Hinkelman, J.M., Adams, A., & Turner, S. ( 1999). Understanding adolescents’ interests, values, and efficacy expectations. Journal of Career Development, 26, 107-124. doi:10.1023/A: 1018669417022.
24.
Meir, E.L., Esformes, Y., & Friedland, N. ( 1994). Congruence and differentiation as predictors of workers’ occupational stability and job performance. Journal of Career Assessment, 2, 40-54. doi:10.1177/ 106907279400200105.
25.
Miner, C.U., Osborne, W.L., & Jaeger, R.M. ( 1997). The ability of career maturity indicators to predict interest score differentiation, consistency, and elevation. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 29, 187-201. http://mec.sagepub.com/.
26.
Mulling, E.W. ( 2003). The Mulling factor: Get your life back by taking control of your career. Sanford, FL: DC Press.
27.
National Council on Disability (2008). Keeping track: National disability status and program performance indicators . Retrieved from http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/Indicators_Report.html
28.
Neumann, G., Olitsky, N., & Robbins, S. ( 2009). Job congruence, academic achievement, and earnings. Labour Economics, 16, 503-509. doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2009.03.004.
29.
Prediger, D.J. ( 1982). Dimensions underlying Holland’s hexagon: Missing link between interests and occupations? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 21, 259-287. doi:10.1016/0001-8791%2882%2990036-7.
30.
Prediger, D.J. ( 2002). Abilities, interests, and values: Their assessment and their integration via the World-of-Work Map. Journal of Career Assessment, 10, 209-232. doi:10.1177/1069072702010002006.
31.
Prediger, D.J., & Swaney, K.B. ( 2004). Work task dimensions underlying the world of work: Research results for diverse occupational databases. Journal of Career Assessment, 12, 440-459. doi:10.1177/ 1069072704267737.
32.
Prediger, D.J., Swaney, K.B., & Mau, W.C. ( 1993). Extending Holland’s hexagon: Procedures, counseling applications, and research. Journal of Counseling & Development , 71, 422-428. Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/Publications/Journals.aspx
33.
Rohe, D.E., & Krause, J.S. ( 1987). Stability of interests after severe physical disability: An 11-year longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior , 52, 45-58. doi:10.1006/jvbe.1996.1560.
34.
Rounds, J.B., Davison, M.L., & Dawis, R.V. ( 1979). The fit between Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory general occupational themes and Holland’s hexagonal model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 15, 303-315. doi:10.1016/0001-8791(79)90027-7.
35.
Rounds, J.B., & Day, S.X. ( 1999). Describing, evaluating, and creating vocational interest structures. In M. L. Savickas, & A. R. Spokane (Eds.), Vocational interests: Meaning, measurement, and counseling use (pp. 103-133). Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black.
36.
Swaney, K.B., & Prediger, D.J. (1985). The relationship between interest-occupation congruence and job satisfaction. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 26, 13-24. doi:10.1016/0001-8791%2885%2990022-3.
37.
Tinsley, H.E.A. ( 2006). A pig in a suit is still a pig: A comment on ‘‘modifying the C index for use with Holland codes of unequal length. ’’ Journal of Career Assessment, 14, 283-288. doi:10.1016/0001-8791% 2885%2990022-3.
38.
Tracey, T.J.G. ( 2002). Development of interests and competency beliefs: A 1-year longitudinal study of fifth-to eighth-grade students using the ICA-R and structural equation modeling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49, 148-163. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.49.2.148.
39.
Tracey, T.J.G., & Robbins, S.B. ( 2005). Stability of interests across ethnicity and gender: A longitudinal examination of grades 8 through 12. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67, 335-364. doi:10.1016/j.jvb. 2004.11.003.
40.
Turner, S.L., & Lapan, R.T. ( 2002). Career self-efficacy and perceptions of parent support in adolescent career development. Career Development Quarterly , 51, 44-55. http://www.associationdatabase.com/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/cdquarterly
41.
Turner, S.L., & Lapan, R.T. ( 2005). Evaluation of an intervention to increase non-traditional career interests and career-related self-efficacy among middle-school adolescents . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 66, 516-531. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2004.02.005.
42.
Turner, S.L., Conkel, J.L., Starkey, M., Landgraf, R., Lapan, R.T., Siewert, J.J., ... Huang, J. ( 2008). Gender differences in Holland vocational personality types: Implications for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 11, 317-326. Retrieved from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=235
43.
Tziner, A., Meir, E.I., & Segal, H. ( 2002). Occupational congruence and personal task-related attributes: How do they relate to work performance?Journal of Career Assessment, 10, 401-412. doi:10.1177/ 1069072702238403.
44.
U.S. Department of Labor. (2000). Standard occupational classification. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/soc/soc_majo.htm
45.
Wehmeyer, P., Sands, D., Knowlton, H., & Kozleski, E. ( 2002). Teaching students with Mental Retardation: Providing access to the general curriculum. Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes Publishing.
46.
Wilkes, L.S. ( 2002). A study of job performance of young adults with disabilities comparing those matched and not matched using the Holland self-directed search . Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B, 63, 1078.
47.
Williams, C.M., & Subich, L.M. ( 2006). The gendered nature of career related learning experiences: A social cognitive career theory perspective. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69, 262-275. doi:10.1016/j.jvb. 2006.02.007.
