The purpose of this paper is to examine the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory. The examination includes a basic description of the test, its development and construction, its reliability and validity, and several testing issues.
The Strong Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII)
The Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) is the much revised edition of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank developed using the criterion group approach (items match the interests and values of a criterion group of people who are happy with chosen careers). According to Crites (1978), the 1974 revision of the SVIB consists of 325 items which represent a test in which the male and female SVIB forms have been merged in an effort to rid the instrument of "sexist" conceptualizations.
Kaplan and Saccuzzo (1982) note that an additional motive for the 1974 revision was to provide a theoretical framework explaining individual variance in career preference. Based the theoretical work of Holland (1975), it was postulated that variance in career preference was associated with personality differences and that there were six basic personality dimensions (realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, conventional) that contributed to preference variance.
The SCII was again revised in the Spring of 1981, although the materials used to take the test did not change. However, the SCII profiles was expanded to include new occupational scales with every occupational criterion group represented by a nationals ample. Also, precautions were taken to rule to potential difficulties with interpretation; an illustration of which is provided by Kaplan and Saccuzzo as follows:
...one of the criticisms of the SCII has been that members of the criterion groups may have been older than those who would be just entering the work force. In the revised SCII, young and older members of each criterion group were compared to determine whether interests and values...