The Elderly in Context

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Abstract
Older people must be understood in terms of changes that occur both in themselves and in the world around them. The transactions between older people and their environments are discussed in terms of the support-autonomy dialectic and specific behaviors involving environmental reactivity and proactivity. Three examples of research are discussed to illustrate how autonomy is maintained on one level while necessary support is accepted on another level (environmental multiplexity): shared housing, intrainstitutional relocation, and the household environment of impaired people.