Holland Personality Types among Learning Disabled and Nonlearning Disabled High School Students

Abstract

Many learning disabled adults are not as successful vocationally as nonhandicapped adults. One reason for their lack of success may be that they are working in occupations incongruent with their personalities and interests. While nonhandicapped individuals are considered to have a variety of occupational interests, learning disabled persons are often occupationally stereotyped and trained for and placed into a more limited variety of occupational environments. The study described in this article investigated whether 96 learning disabled high school students had vocational interests and personalities that differed from those of 96 nonlearning disabled high school students. Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) was used to measure personality and occupational interests. Subjects were matched on sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). A chi-square test of homogeneity was computed. The groups were not found to be heterogeneous with respect to occupational interests and personalities. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

School to Work Transition

“…These research studies indicate that many youth and adults with LD are generally not doing well once they leave school and may have considerable difficulty finding and retaining employment. This conclusion supports research by Sitlington (1981) and Cummings and Maddux (1987) data that many adults with LD may be employed in occupations not suited to their abilities, interests, and personalities. This conclusion supports research by Sitlington (1981) and Cummings and Maddux (1987) data that many adults with LD may be employed in occupations not suited to their abilities, interests, and personalities.…”

Vocational assessment of secondary students with disabilities and the school psychologist

“…Differences between ethnic groups have been found, yet they have tended to be small (Davison Aviles & Spokane, 1999). Some researchers have suggested that learning disabled youngsters have lower career interest scores because of a restriction in life experiences (Winer, Pierce, & Wilson, 1988), whereas others have shown that learning disabled and nonhandicapped high school students are similar in terms of Holland interests (Cummings & Maddux, 1987a).…”

The Relationship Between Career Maturity and Congruence, Consistency, and Differentiation Among Individuals With and Without Learning Disabilities

“…Although research has demonstrated that students with learning disabilities do not differ from students without learning disabilities in terms of occupational interests and Holland personality types (Cummings & Maddux, 1987). individuals with learning disabilities consistently work in jobs that are not suited to their abilities and characteristics (Sitlington, 1981).…”