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

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
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.