Some Differences Between Elderly People Who Use Community Resources and Those Who Do Not

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Abstract
This study initially involved 120 subjects in four groups of 30 members each. It was designed to compare institutional aged persons (Jewish Home for the Aged, or JHAs) with ambulatory persons who used community resources (Jewish Community Center, JCCs). Controls were selected from a stratified sample in a community-wide study of the Detroit Jewish population; half of the control subjects lived alone (LAs) and half lived with their families (LWFs); none of them used community resources. All 120 subjects were at least 60 years old. The female:male ratio was 71:49. They were asked to fill in a 442-item questionnaire which yields data about personal and family background, current status, attitudes, interests and self-evaluation. The 30 JHAs were significantly older than the 30 JCCs, but otherwise there were few differeneces. Therefore the focus of the study was shifted to a comparison of the 30 JCCs, who used community facilities, with the 30 LAs and 30 LWFs, who did not. The JCCs were not well educated and were of low economic status. They obtained social gratification through group activities. They had many acquaintances but few close friends whose loss could be a threat. As a group, they seemed content. The LA and LWF groups were better educated, more successful financially, and more likely to derive personal satisfaction from their work. They formed closer family attachments and were more object-oriented, so they were more vulnerable to lossof home and family. Setting high value on individual capacities, they were more likely to be threatened by illness. Any attempt to extend a helping hand to elderly citizens who do not avail themselves of community resources will have to take into account the prevalence of these distinctly different life styles.

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