Level of Differentiation of Vocational Interests Profiles: Comparative Study by Age and Schooling in a Brazilian Sample

Abstract

Vocational interests can be defined as standards of preference, aversion or indifference to professional activities, but little is known about the factors involved in their development. From this perspective, this study attempted to clarify which variable, age or schooling, better fit comparisons of profile differentiation index. To this end, we analyzed the Escala de Aconselhamento Profissional (Professional Counseling Scale) responses of 6,824 Brazilian students between 14 and 50 years old with various levels of education. Differentiation of the interest profile was observed by subtraction between dimensions with lower and higher scores. Normality of the distributions was verified and then Analysis of Variance and Tukey's post hoc test were conducted in relation to groups of age and schooling. The results suggest that schooling is a more appropriate variable to compare the differentiation of interests. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed, and suggestions for future studies are given.