Relationship between psychopathology and vocational interests among school-going adolescents in Nigeria

The study examined the relationship between psychopathology and vocational interests among some school-going adolescents in Nigeria. Two hundred and seventy-eight secondary school final year students responded to a psychopathology inventory and the Bakare's Vocational Interest Inventory (VII). Data obtained were analysed using the Discriminant Function Analysis and the students' t-test. Results obtained showed that the students' vocational interests could not significantly differentiate between high and low psychopathology groups at the .05 level. Significant differences were however obtained in the outdoor, mechanical, and musical areas when comparing the VII scores of males with females. The findings support the need to collect both vocational interests and psychopathological/personality data of clients in order to assist them in their vocational problems.