LIFE-HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENTAL ANTECEDENTS OF FEMALE VOCATIONAL PREFERENCES

The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship among life-history experiences, sex-role orientation, self-esteem, and femal es' vocational preferences according to Holland's typology. The sample consisted of 296 undergraduate female college students. Data were gat hered from the Strong Interest Inventory (SII; Hansen and Campbell, 19 85), the Biographical Questionnaire (BQ; Owens, 1971), the Bem Sex-Rol e Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1981), and the Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI; Coo persmith, 1987). Multiple discriminant analyses revealed that 77.2% of the variance in RIASEC group membership could be explained by the dis criminating variables. Life-history information was more predictive of vocational interests than either sex-role orientation or self-esteem. The results were discussed in the context of previous research on pre dicting the vocational interests of females.