Research has provided only partial support for Anne Roe's theory of career development that states that childhood experiences lead eventually to patterns of adult vocational choice. To determine the validity of Roe's theory about career choice, childhood experiences, and family climates, male physics students (N=15), seminary teachers (N=15), and student athletes (N=15) participated in tape-recorded interviews using Nachmann's instrument on family climates. Although differences were not significant, they occurred in the predicted directions, i.e.,: (1) physicists experienced deprivation more often than athletes during childhood; (2) mothers were stronger figures than fathers in the childhoods of the teachers; (3) fathers were stronger figures than mothers in the athletes' childhoods; and (4) personal superiority was emphasized more in the early experiences of the athletes. However, aggressive impulses in the early experiences of the seminary teachers were more acceptable than for the athlete group; discipline was also a more masculine and repressive pattern in the childhood behaviors of the athletes. The findings suggest a lack of support for Roe's theory. (Author/RC)