A Life-Theme Method for Scoring of Interviews in the Longitudinal Study of Young Business Managers

Abstract

Longitudinal studies of adult development are reviewed preceding the description of the Management Progress Study, a long-term study of young men in business management. A method for scoring the “life themes” revealed in the lengthy annual interviews with Ss is presented. The nine themes are occupational, ego-functional, financial-acquisitive, locale-residential, marital-familial, parental-familial, recreational-social, religious-humanism, and service. Illustrative results show trends in these themes for individuals and groups over a seven-year period. The scoring method will be applied to the several hundred cases in the Study to illuminate interrelations over time of the life themes with job environment and performance, assessment center evaluations of these Ss, and medical findings