Relation of person–environment fit to career certainty Michael R. Durr II * , Terence J.G. Tracey Arizona State University, 302 Payne Hall, MC 0611, Tempe, AZ 85287-0611, USA article info Article history: Received 21 April 2009 Available online 18 May 2009 Keywords: Person–environment fit Interest-occupation congruence Occupational interests Self-efficacy Parental support Prestige Career certainty abstract This study examined the person–environment fit-career outcome relation by observing interests, self-efficacy and parental support as person aspects and major and occupational choice as separate indicators of the environment. Career certainty was selected as a career outcome. Two dimensional fit indices (People-Things and Data-Ideas) were examined as was the incremental validity of adding prestige fit indices. In addition, we examined the moderation of these PE fit-outcome relations by ethnicity (Anglos vs. Latino/a’s). Results revealed that the PE fit predictors were moderately related and none of the two dimen- sional PE fit predictors significantly related to career certainty, while nearly all of the Pres- tige PE fit-certainty relations were significant. Support was found for the spherical structure of work types and person variables [Tracey, T. J. G., & Rounds, J. (1996b). Contri- butions of the spherical representation of vocational interests. Journal of Vocational Behav- ior, 48, 85–95]. Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction A cornerstone of the field of vocational psychology, dating back to Parsons (1909), is person–environment fit (PE fit), assisting individuals to select environments that would be optimal. Indeed, most career choice theories are based on the gen- eral notion that people perform better and are more satisfied in occupational environments that match their interests or other personal variables (e.g., Dawis & Lofquist, 1984; Holland, 1973, 1997). Despite extensive examination, attention, and application of the congruence model in career counseling and academic advising with diverse groups, the professional literature has yielded equivocal support for the validity of the congruence relation to reliably predict career-related criteria (Assouline & Meir, 1987; Tinsley, 2000a, 2000b; Tracey, Darcy, & Kovalski, 2000). Researchers (Spokane, Meir, & Catalano, 2000; Tinsley, 2000a; Tinsley, 2000b; Tracey, 2007; Tracey et al., 2000) have called for examination of potential moderating factors into question in attempt to explain the ambiguous results of such a ‘‘common sense,” heavily used notion. Theorists have identified the structure of interests and environments, common measurements of interest, psychological variables such as self-efficacy, and more recently, contextual constructs, such as culture and family, as potential contributors to the mixed findings of the predictive validity of PE fit (Assouline & Meir, 1987; Tinsley, 2000a; Tinsley, 2000b; Tracey et al. 2000). Research (Spokane, 1985; Tracey & Robbins, 2005) has demonstrated that the congruence index used may be one of the most significant factors in the PE fit relations ability to predict outcome criteria. The purpose of the current study was to further examine the PE fit-outcome relation by examining various different person domains that could moderate the relation between fit and career outcome. Specifically, we examined interest, self-efficacy and parental support as different person aspects used in defining PE fit. In addition, we examined the utility of including prestige as a salient factor in PE fit. Most all PE fit research has focused on the match of interests to the occupation typically using Holland types. The Spokane (1985) and Assouline and Meir (1987) meta-analyses draw mostly from this area. Researchers are increasingly putting more 0001-8791/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2009.05.003 * Corresponding author. E-mail address: Rob.Durr@du.edu (M.R. Durr II). Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 129–138 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Vocational Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb