Methodological Issues in the Measurement of Career Maturity

With the current emphasis on career education as well as the longer standing interest in career development theory and research, the measurement of career maturity throughout the life span—but particularly during adolescence—has assumed central importance in the operational definition and quantification of salient variables. But a psychometrics of career maturity, which poses several unique methodological problems, is only beginning to be formulated. At least three major issues in the assessment of career maturity need resolution: (a) linear versus nonlinear time functions in the selection of items; (b) longitudinal versus cross-sectional developmental data collection designs; and (c) maturational versus error variance in the estimation of test-retest reliability. These issues are discussed and provisional resolutions are proposed.