Environmental Adjustments to Declining Functional Ability

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Abstract
Using data from the 1984 and 1986 waves of the Longitudinal Study on Aging by the National Center for Health Statistics, this study examines the probability of making an adjustment in one's living environment which is associated with differing levels of instrumental disabilities. Research concerning health and geographic mobility supports the authors' earlier view that instrumental disabilities do put pressure on older persons to change their residences. This strategy may also be taken to restore a balance between the individual and his or her living environment, more broadly defined. For this reason, perhaps, the probabilities generated by the model have an impressive range. The probability ranged from .117 for persons who improved the most to .279 for those who deteriorated the most. These findings provide support for the Litwak-Longino model of elderly migration.