JOB DEMANDS AND WORKER HEALTH - 3-DIMENSIONAL REEXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT AND STRAIN

The most influential study of the Person-environment (P-E) fit approac h to stress was conducted by J. R. P French, R. D. Caplan, and R. V. H arrison (1982). Unfortunately, this study operationalized fit using va rious transformations of difference scores, thereby introducing numero us substantive and methodological problems. In the present study, the authors reanalyze data from French et al., using a procedure described by J. R. Edwards (in press) that avoids problems with difference scor es and captures the underlying three-dimensional relationship between E, P, and strain. Results resolve ambiguities in the French et al. fin dings and identify relationships between E, P, and strain that, althou gh consistent with P-E fit theory, cannot be adequately represented by fit measures such as those used by French et al. Implications for P-E fit research are discussed.