Longitudinal study of career development in college-educated women

About this book

This study was designed to identify the background, personality, or college experience characteristics that distinguished those women who aspire to enter occupations dominated by men from those women who choose careers in which women are well represented. In 1967, a subsample of 200 women seniors were chosen from those tested as first-year students in 1963 in the Michigan Student Study: A Study of Students in a Multiversity (see Gurin, A2). In 1967, an extensive questionnaire was administered to these students. One hundred eighteen of the 200 women agreed to complete additional projective tests to measure personality variables. The questionnaire covered the areas: (1) educational and occupational achievement of the respondent's parents, and the characteristics of childhood family life; (2) college experiences, including interaction with faculty members, and involvement in extracurricular activities; (3) interests, attitudes, and beliefs of the respondent; and (4) respondent's desires and expectations regarding future life work. The projective personality testing consisted of six verbal cues, four of which were scored for need for achievement and motive to avoid success. In 1970, 152 of the initial sample of women were recontacted. The interview/questionnaire concentrated on the respondent's educational and occupational experiences and expectations since graduation from college, and also attempted to characterize the participant's current family circumstances (whether married, with children, and so on). In 1981, a follow-up of 117 of the participants was also conducted. The instruments used included four projective cues and an extensive questionnaire which explored career aspirations, support systems, and the role of work, marriage, and motherhood. Computer-accessible data are available for all three periods of data collection, as well as the completed questionnaires from the 1970 and 1981 data collections and the projective stories from the 1967 follow-up.