Age and the cultivation of place

Exploring the place attachments of older migrants in Aotearoa: A life course history approach

Migrants are faced with the task of creating a sense of home in a new context. As migrants grow older in their host countries, they are also making important decisions on where to live out the rest of their lives, making salient the places they attach themselves to. Place attachment, and its subcomponents of place identity and place dependence, are concepts that have been explored in the ageing and migration literature, demonstrating that positive, emotional attachments to places are positively correlated with better health outcomes. Although it has been established that individuals' attachments to places are dynamic, multidimensional and change over the life course, there is a paucity of research exploring the place attachments of migrants as they age using a life course approach. This study adopted a life course approach to investigate how the components of place attachment shifted over time for migrant people in Aotearoa New Zealand as they aged, and to better understand the mechanisms and barriers to establishing a sense of home in a foreign land. We examined the narratives of ten older migrants (65 years or older) who migrated to Aotearoa before the age of 50. Key findings illustrated that all participants had strong place identities (i.e., explicit self-identification and sense of belonging) to their countries of origin before migrating to Aotearoa, all participants developed strong place dependence (i.e., fulfilment of functional needs) to Aotearoa over their life course, but not everyone was able to develop place identity to Aotearoa. Mechanisms such as language, cultural attitudes, and values can both facilitate and prevent attachments to either home or host country. These results uncover how Aotearoa's ageing migrants negotiate their attachments to places over the life course.

Perceptions of community among suburban and urban-dwelling adults aging in place

Community is important for late-midlife adults, offering a sense of belonging and opportunities for social engagement during the transition to older age. The current study examines perceptions of community and geographical ties among a sample of older adults aging in place. Using data from the Foley Longitudinal Study of Adulthood (FLSA; N = 163; aged 61-64) and a qualitative GIS approach, major themes were categorized and mapped to create a comprehensive picture of how perceptions of community varied among respondents and neighborhoods. Core themes were connections to place, space, people, and relational benefits gained from community involvement. Residents of a suburban enclave more frequently noted connections to people as being important to community, compared to residents in more densely-populated areas. Implications for future research are discussed.

Qualities of the environment that support a sense of home and belonging in nursing homes for older people

The aim of this study was to contribute with knowledge about how a sense of home and belonging is enacted and can be supported in everyday life, with a particular focus on the relationships that connect everyday life and the environment in nursing home contexts. The concepts ‘a sense of home’ and ‘belonging’ were chosen with the ambition to grasp values grounded in experiences and everyday practices, with an openness for various aspects that can support an enjoyable life and comfort for nursing home residents. The study focused on communal areas, e.g. dining room, kitchen, corridors and gardens, that serve as arenas where nursing home residents’ everyday lives expand beyond the private room. Ethnographic methods were applied to identify and explore situations where a sense of home and belonging were enacted in nursing homes that had been acknowledged as good examples of nursing home environments. Through the analytic process, four qualities were identified: (a) a cornerstone for stability and everydayness, (b) the beating heart, (c) spatial dynamics, and (d) magnetic places. Following from the chosen methodology, the findings provide a situated understanding of how communal areas in nursing homes can invite a sense of home and belonging for the residents.

Sense of Community Mediating Between Age-Friendly Characteristics and Life Satisfaction of Community-Dwelling Older Adults

The growth of age-friendly community initiatives underscores a paradigmatic shift from the individual to the community, addressing dynamic transactions between people and the environment they are living in. The purpose of the present study is to address the gap in existing research by examining the psycho-social effects of the sense of community in mediating between WHO domains of age-friendliness and the life satisfaction of older adults. Data were obtained from 898 participants in Hong Kong. Path analysis was conducted. Two AFC domains, Social Participation as well as Community Support and Health Services, were found to be associated with life satisfaction. Sense of community was found to mediate between these two domains and life satisfaction. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to developing opportunities in social participation of older adults and enhancing community/health support services in the context of developing sustainability in the community.

Supporting Aging-in-Place Well: Findings From a Cluster Analysis of the Reasons for Aging-in-Place and Perceptions of Well-Being

Prior research on gerontology and housing has frequently adopted a perspective that aging-in-place is the "goal." Despite these meaningful results and policy implications, opportunities to explore consequences of aging-in-place, such as the association of this with overall well-being, have been overlooked. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating perceptions of well-being that could act as a driver or result of aging-in-place. With a nationwide random sample of non-Hispanic White, older individuals (60+), living in their homes (N = 328), three segments of senior residents based on their reasons for aging-in-place were identified. Results reinforce the importance of community-based integrative programs and policies by indicating that the three identified clusters were not homogeneous; however, inclusive community-based supports and services can provide what each cluster needs to successfully age-in-place. Discussion provides a perspective on how to support successful aging-in-place, including the role of the federal government in funding and legislation.

An ecological framework of place: situating environmental gerontology within a life course perspective

This article presents an emergent heuristic framework for the core environmental gerontology concept of "place." Place has been a central concern in the field since the 1970s (Gubrium, 1978) for its hypothesized direct relationship to identity, the self, and agency--suggestive of the appropriateness of lateral theoretical linkages with developmental science. The Ecological Framework of Place (EFP) defines place as a socio-physical milieu involving people, the physical setting, and the program of the place, all catalyzed by situated human activity and fully acknowledging that all four may change over time. The article begins with a concise overview of the EFP before moving on to consider it within three theoretical terrains: place theory, developmental science theory, and environmental gerontology theory. The EFP will be argued to be a place theory which subsumes themes of emergent environmental gerontology theories within a developmental science perspective. Implications for theory, method and practice are discussed. One of the strengths of the model is its ability to serve both research and practice, as is exhibited in its ability to incorporate applied design research and inform architectural decision-making so often lacking in other environmental gerontology models. Place should be viewed as an integrative concept providing opportunities for both environmental gerontology and developmental science to more critically concern the profound role places have in terms of agency, identity and sense of self over the life course.

Residential normalcy and the enriched coping repertoires of successfully aging older adults

An earlier theoretical model equated the construct of residential normalcy with older persons positively appraising their residential environments. Failing to achieve congruent places to live, they initiate assimilative (action) or accommodative (mind) coping strategies. This paper theorizes that the assimilative coping strategies of older persons depend on their secondary appraisal processes whereby they judge the availability, efficaciousness, and viability of their coping options. Older persons with more enriched coping repertoires are theorized as more resilient, making their own decisions, and with access to more resource-rich objectively defined resilient environments. Successful aging formulations infrequently examine how residential environmental adaptations of people influence the quality of their lives. Programmatically, the theory emphasizes the potential of individual and environmental interventions targeting older persons who are not aging successfully.

Exploring identity and aging: auto-photography and narratives of low income older adults

This study focused on meanings of health, housing, independence and aging among low-income adults age 55 and older who live in, or are on a waiting list for, publicly subsidized rental housing. The purpose was to learn how low-income older adults perceive their independence and health, and how their place of residence contributes to these perceptions, as well as related perceptions of self. Qualitative data were collected using in-person narrative interviews with 45 individuals and a second photo elicitation interview with 31 of these persons. Themes describe how disrupted identities influence subjective thoughts about the aging process, housing, health, and finances, the process of clinicalization, and place identities. These findings highlight the relationship between housing status, dignity, and shifting identities as older adults experience the aging process in a low-income context. This study expands the current scholarship on the relationship between environment and aging as well as our understanding of poverty among older persons. These topics are relevant for new policies and programs to support the aging in place of older persons in subsidized housing. Understanding the life worlds of those who live in or have applied to this form of housing will be instrumental in developing such strategies.

Residential normalcy and environmental experiences of very old people: changes in residential reasoning over time

The decision to relocate in old age is intricately linked to thoughts and desires to stay put. However, most research focuses either on strategies that allow people to age in place or on their reasons for relocation. There is a need for more knowledge on very old peoples' residential reasoning, including thoughts about aging in place and thoughts about relocation as one intertwined process evolving in everyday life. The aim of this study was to explore what we refer to as the process of residential reasoning and how it changes over time among very old people, and to contribute to the theoretical development regarding aging in place and relocation. Taking a longitudinal perspective, data stem from the ENABLE-AGE In-depth Study, with interviews conducted in 2003 followed up in interviews in 2011. The 16 participants of the present study were 80-89years at the time of the first interview. During analysis the Theoretical Model of Residential Normalcy by Golant and the Life Course Model of Environmental Experience by Rowles & Watkins were used as sensitizing concepts. The findings revealed changes in the process of residential reasoning that related to a wide variety of issues. Such issues included the way very old people use their environmental experience, their striving to build upon or dismiss attachment to place, and their attempts to maintain or regain residential normalcy during years of declining health and loss of independence. In addition, the changes in reasoning were related to end-of-life issues. The findings contribute to the theoretical discussion on aging in place, relocation as a coping strategy, and reattachment after moving in very old age.