The Interest Checklist: a factor analysis

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the 80 items on the Interest Checklist empirically cluster into the five categories of interests described by Matsutsuyu, the developer of the tool.

The Interest Checklist was administered to 367 subjects classified in three subgroups: students, working adults, and retired elderly persons. An 80-item correlation matrix was formed from the responses to the Interest Checklist for each subgroup and then used in a factor analysis model to identify the underlying structure or domains of interest.

Results indicated that the Social Recreation theoretical category was empirically independent for all three subgroups; the Physical Sports and Cultural/Educational theoretical categories were empirically independent for only the college students and working adults; and the Manual Skills theoretical category was empirically independent for only the working adults.

Although therapists should continue to be cautious in their interpretation of patients' Interest Checklist scores, the tool is useful for identifying patients' interests in order to choose meaningful activities for therapy.