Structure of interests and Asian-American college students.

Unweighted multidimensional scaling (MDS) analyses were used to investigate whether J. L. Holland's (1985) theoretical structure of interests described the interest structures for 2 cultural groups and for genders within those groups. The intercorrelation matrices of the Strong Interest Inventory General Occupational Themes, for 168 Asian-American (mean age 20.5 yrs) and 285 White-American (mean age 20.7 yrs) university students, were submitted separately to MDS analysis. Metric, 2-dimensional solutions for each sample demonstrated that a circumplex structure underlay the interest domain for all 4 groups. Results were mixed in support of the hexagonal structure and the Realistic–Investigative–Artistic–Social–Enterprising–Conventional ordering suggested by Holland's theory. Possible explanations and implications of these results are discussed within the context of existing research on Asian cultural thought and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)