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Anticipating Relocation: Coping Strategies and the Meaning of Home for Older People

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Deborah L. Rutman  and
Jonathan L. Freedman
Deborah L. Rutman
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Jonathan L. Freedman
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Abstract

Despite the extensive literature on the effects of relocation on the aged, most investigators have examined changes following relocation. Very little is known about the cognitions and emotions an older person experiences, or about the meaning of home during the pre-relocation period. The present study attempted to address these issues. Sixty-three older people awaiting relocation to age-segregated rent-subsidized apartment buildings were interviewed twice over a one year period: they received the PGC Multilevel Assessment Instrument as well as measures assessing coping strategies and their perceived meaning of home and relocation. Respondents did not demonstrate decrements on any domain of the PGC MAI over the year period; indeed, those who moved significantly increased their level of environmental satisfaction. Finally, participants reported dealing with stress by exercising personal control over, or actively manipulating, their environment; “home”, moreover, most often had meaning and importance because it was the place in which this personal control was optimized and ensured.

Résumé

Malgré les recherches approfondies sur les conséquences d'un déménagement chez les gens âgés, la majorité des chercheurs étudient les changements qui s'opèrent suivant un déplacement. Les connaissances et les émotions ressenties par une personne âgée ainsi que la signification du foyer durant la période qui précède le déménagement demeurent, à toutes fins pratiques, inexplorées. Cette étude tente de s'attaquer à ces problèmes.

Les chercheurs se sont adressés à 63 personnes âgées qui étaient sur le point de déménager dans des édifices où les loyers sont subventionnés et où les logements sont destinés uniquement à des personnes du troisième âge. Chaque participant a été interrogé à deux reprises durant une période d'un an: chacun a reçu le PGC Multilevel Assessment Instrument ainsi que des mesures évaluant les stratégies d'adaptation, et la valeur accordée au foyer et à un déménagement. Durant cette année, aucun décrément n'a été enrégistré au niveau du PGC MAI; ceux qui ont déménagé en effet ont augmenté sensiblement leur niveau de satisfaction et leur condition de vie. En dernier lieu, les participants ont signalé que c'est en exerçant un controle personnel ou en modifiant sensiblement le milieu dans lequel ils circulent qu'ils ont réussi à affronter le stress; de plus, le “foyer” détient le plus souvent une grande importance et une valeur particulière puisque c'est l'endroit où ce contrôle personnel est assuré et optimalisé.

Keywords

relocationagedcoping strategieshome
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , Spring/printemps 1988 , pp. 17 - 31
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1988

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