A study of person-environment fit among the chronically ill

The ecological perspective is gaining acceptance in social work thinking. This approach focuses on the interaction of people and situations. An important ecological concept is person-environment fit; that is, the congruency between people needs, capacities, and aspirations and the resources demands and opportunities in their environment. The study described in this article explored the empirical manifestations of this concept among a group of chronically ill persons. The results suggested that there are several categories of person-environment fit that are important to people. The concept also appears to have potential usefulness for research on social work practice.