The interest patterns of a group of Tasmanian adolescents.

The purpose of this investigation was to make a study of the interests of a group of Tasmanian secondary school pupils in the early stages of their transition from childhood to adulthood. The information was obtained by means of an Interests Questionnaire, the Bell Adjustment Inventory, and the Otis Intelligence Test. The children studied were the boys and girls in the age ranges 12.9 to 13.3 years and 14.9 to 15.3 years attending four Hobart state secondary co-educational schools. A study of the children's interests was made in relation to certain areas of their activities such as their prescribed school studies, and to certain aspects of their development such as their social maturity. Interest patterns for various smaller groups into which the group of children was divided were described and compared. The children indicated their interests by preference ratings. The frequency and the rank order of these ratings were considered, and preference indices calculated. The researches of other investigators indicate that adolescent interests are dependent on, and limited by, certain major factors such as sex, physiological development, age, intelligence, environment, and socio-economic status. The influence of these factors, and of personality adjustment on the interests of the Tasmanian group was considered. It appeared that of all the factors, socio-economic status and personality adjustment had the least noticeable effect on interest patterns.