Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T05:01:47.507Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Differences in Person-Environment Congruence between Microenvironments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Milton F. Nehrke ,
John B. Morganti ,
Stanley H. Cohen ,
Irene M. Hulicka ,
Susan K. Whitbourne ,
Ralph R. Turner  and
Jerry F. Cataldo
Milton F. Nehrke
Affiliation:
V.A. Medical Center, Bath, New York
John B. Morganti
Affiliation:
State University College at Buffalo
Stanley H. Cohen
Affiliation:
West Virginia University
Irene M. Hulicka
Affiliation:
State University College at Buffalo
Susan K. Whitbourne
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
Ralph R. Turner
Affiliation:
Abt Associates, Cambridge, MA
Jerry F. Cataldo
Affiliation:
State University College at Buffalo
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In the Person-Environment (P-E) Congruence model, psychological well-being is proposed to be a function of the degree of fit between the perceived environment and the important needs of the individual; and, that in more restricted environments, the relationship is stronger. The present study examined, cross-sectionally and longitudinally, the Congruence levels and well-being of elderly veterans (N = 165) in four microenvironments within a single instutition. Congruence was assessed using the multidimensional Environmental Perception, Preference and Importance Scale (EPPIS). Well-being was measured using the PGC Moral Scale, the Life Satisfaction Index A and a semantic differential self-concept scale. There were significant microenvironment differences on three of the 15 EPPIS dimensions; the P-E Congruence scores were predictive of well-being; and, the specific dimensions predictive of well-being varied across microenvironments, criterion of well-being and time. The data reinforces the notion that treatment programs must be individualized and that the P-E model, operationalized in the EPPIS, may serve as a viable clinical tool.

Résumé

Le modéle Person-Environment (P-E) Congruence veut que le bien-être phychique soit fonction de l'adaptation du milieu perçu aux besoins du sujet; en milieu restreint, ces deux facteurs sont étroitement liés. La présente étude transversale et longitudinale fait état des niveaux de congruence et de bien-être chez les anciens combattants âgés (N = 165) observés dans quatre micromilieux au sein de la même institution. Les mesures ont été obtenues de la maniére suivante: application à la congruence de l'échelle multidimensionnelle EPPIS (Environment Perception, Preference and Importance Scale); application au bien-être psychique de l'échelle d'évaluation du moral PGC Morale Scale, de l'indice de satisfaction Life Satisfaction Index A et de l'échelle différentielle sémantique du concept de soi-même. Sur 15 dimensions de l'échelle EPPIS, trois révélent des différences significatives entre les micromilieux; les cotes du P-E Congruence prédisent le degré de bien-être; les dimensions spécifiques qui prédisent le bien-être varient selon les micromilieux, le critère du bien-être ainsi que dans le temps. Les données obtenues étayent le principe voulant que l'individualisation des programmes thérapeutiques soit souhaitable, et confirment la valeur pour la clinique du modèle P-E rendu opérationnel par le EPPIS.

Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , September 1984 , pp. 117 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Carp, F.M. (1975) Impact of improved housing on morale and life satisfaction. The Gerontologist, 15, 511–515.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
French, J.P.R., Rodgers, W. & Cobb, S. (1974) Adjustment as person-environment fit. In Coelho, G.V., Hamburg, D.A. & Adams, J.E. (Eds.), Coping and adaptation. New York: Basic Books, Inc.Google Scholar
George, L.K., & Bearon, L.B. (1980). Quality of life in older persons: meaning and measurement. New York: Human Science Press.Google Scholar
Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. Garden City, NY: Doubleday-Anchor Books.Google Scholar
Kahana, E. (1974). Matching environments to needs of the aged: A conceptual scheme. In Gubrium, J.F. (Ed.), Late life: communities and environment policy. Springfield, IL: C.C. Thomas.Google Scholar
Kahana, E. (1982). A congruence model of person-environment interaction. In Lawton, M.P., Windley, P.G., & Byerts, T.O. (Eds.), Aging and the environment: theoretical approaches. New York: Springer Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Langer, E.G., & Rodin, J. (1976). The effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged: A field experiment in an institutional setting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 191–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson, R. (1978). Thirty years of research on the subjective well-being of older Americans. Journal of Gerontoloty, 33, 109–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawton, M.P. (1970). Ecology and aging. In Pastalan, L.A. and Carson, D.H. (Eds.), Thespatial behavior of older people. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan, Institute of Gerontology.Google Scholar
Lawton, M.P. (1972). The dimensions of morale. In Kent, D., Kastenbaum, R., & Sherwood, S. (Eds.), Research planning and action for the elderly. New York: Behavioral Publications, Inc.Google Scholar
Lawton, M.P. (1980). Environment and aging. Monterey, CA: Brooks-Cole Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Lawton, MP., Liebowitz, B., & Charon, H. (1970). Physical structure and the behavior of senile patients following ward remodeling. Aging and Human Development, 1, 231–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawton, M.P., & Simon, B.B. (1968). The ecology of social relationships in housing for the elderly. The Gerontologist, 8, 108–115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewin, K. (1935). Dynamic theory of personality. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Lieberman, M.A. (1969). Institutionalization of the aged: Effects on behavior. Journal of Gerontology, 24, 330–340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liebowitz, B. (1974). Impact of intra-instutitional relocation. Special report from the Philadelphia Geriatric Center. Background and the planning process. Gerontologist, 14, 293–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liebowitz, B., Lawton, M.P. & Waldman, A. (1979). A prosthetically designed nursing home. American Institute of Architects Journal, 68, 59–61.Google Scholar
Lohman, N.(1977). Correlations of life satisfaction, morale and adjustement measures. Journal of Gerontology, 32, 73–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lohman, N. (1980). A factor analysis of life satisfaction, adjustment and morale measures with elderly adults. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 11, 35–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mangen, D.J., & Peterson, W.A. (1982). Research instruments in social gerontology: Volume 1: Clinical and social psychology. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Monge, R.H. (1975). Structure of the self-concept from adolescence through old age. Experimental Aging Research, 1, 281–292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murray, H.A. (1938). Exploration in personality. New York: Oxford.Google Scholar
Nehrke, M.F., Hulicka, I.M., & Morganti, J.B. (1980). Age differences in life satisfaction, locus of control and self-concept. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 11, 25–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nehrke, M.F., Turner, R.R., Cohen, S.H., Whit-bourne, S.K., Morganti, J.B., & Hulicka, I.M. (1981). Toward a model of person-environment congruence: Development of the EPPIS. Experimental Aging Research, 7, 363–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neugarten, B.L., Havighurst, R.J., & Tobin, S. (1961). The measure of life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 16, 134–143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodin, F., & Langer, E.J. (1977–1978). Long-term effects of a control relevant intervention with the institutionalized aged. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 897–902.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schulz, R. (1976). Effects of control and predictability on the physical and psychological well-being of the institutionalized aged. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 563–573.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schulz, R., & Brenner, G. (1977). Relocation of the aged: A review and theoretical analysis. Journal of Gerontology, 32, 323–333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schulz, R., & Hanusa, B.H. (1979). Environmental influence on the effectiveness of control- and competence-enhancing interventions. In Perlmutter, L.C. & Monty, R.A. (Eds.), Choice and perceived control, New York: Lawrence, Erlbaum Assoc.Google Scholar
Seligman, M.E.P. (1975). Helplessness: on depression, development and death. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Co.Google Scholar
Sperbeck, D.J., Whitbourne, S.K., & Nehrke, M.F. (1981). Determinants of person-environment congruence in institutionalized elderly men and women. Experimental Aging Research, 7, 381–391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed