Structural invariance of vocational interests across Japanese and American cultures.

Abstract

Two samples of college students (Japanese, N = 373; American, N = 401) were given the Inventory of Occupational Preferences (T. J. G. Tracey & J. Rounds, 1996a), and the structural invariance across cultures was examined at the item and at various scale levels. Correlations of principal-components factor loadings demonstrated that the item structure was similar across cultures. Three separate scale structures were examined: Holland's six-type circular model, Tracey and Rounds's eight-type circular model, and Tracey and Rounds's spherical representation. The fit of the six-type and spherical models to the Japanese sample was significantly worse than their fit to the U.S. sample. There were no differences in cross-cultural fit for the eight-type model. Few structure differences were found between and within genders.