[The importance of the home for healthy and disabled elderly persons]

Abstract

The majority of old people live in private households and they want to remain there. Starting from this insight, the study is focused on the interaction between older people and their home environment. Some theoretical assumptions on the role of housing are presented, namely the competence theory perspective, the continuity theory perspective, the perspective of research on leisure time and everyday life activities, the environmental adaptation perspective, and the environmental gerontology perspective. Previous research has shown that there is a strong correlation between environmental-relevant competence loss (e.g., mobility impairment) and objective living arrangements. Little attention has been paid, however, to the subjective meaning of home in old age (e.g., processes like familiarity or stimulation), either with or without competence loss. This paper presents preliminary results of an investigation into that "Aging in Place" issue, based on semi-structured interviews with 84 participants between the age of 62-92 (M = 77 years). Forty-two subjects were in good health status, 42 suffered from severe mobility impairments. The participants were visited at home and all interviews were tape-recorded. On one hand, the general meaning of home, on the other, specific sections of the home environment were analyzed (most favorite place within the home, favorite meaningful things). The results revealed that the two groups of participants are similar as far as the general meaning of home is concerned. In the experience of the most favorite place at home, subjects suffering from mobility impairments are tending more to an environmental "centralization" than healthy subjects do. With respect to personal objects, the most often mentioned meaning was "reminiscence". By and large, the results of this work support the view that knowledge about the meaning of home can be of help to better understand how old people create their meaningful everyday life at home and why they want to "stay put"; in addition, the results can be used in planning living arrangements for people of all ages.