Sheltered housing or community dwelling: quality of life and ageism among elderly people

International Psychogeriatrics - Tập 23 Số 8 - Trang 1197-1204 - 2011
Ehud Bodner1, Sara Cohen-Fridel1,2, A Yaretzky3
1Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
2School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
3Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel

Tóm tắt

ABSTRACTBackground:Previous studies have found correlations between negative perceptions of old age and perceived quality of life (QoL) among elderly people. It has also been suggested that a denial of aging mechanism is employed and might support ageist attitudes among private-sheltered housing tenants compared with elderly people who live in the community and experience intra-generational interactions. Therefore, we hypothesized that tenants of sheltered housing will report more ageist attitudes towards people of their own age, and report a lower QoL than elderly people who live in the community.Methods:The sample included 126 volunteers, aged between 64 and 94 years, who live in private-sheltered housing (n = 32) or in the community (n = 94). The participants completed the Fraboni scale of ageism, and a QoL Inventory (SF-36).Results:People, and men in particular, who live in sheltered housing, reported more intergenerational ageist attitudes than men and women who live in the community. Tenants in sheltered housing expressed lower evaluations of their mental health, but higher evaluations on “social functioning” (QoL scales). Women from sheltered housing reported better mental health than men. Gender and some QoL scales were associated with higher ageism.Conclusions:Differences in ageist attitudes between both dwelling places can be interpreted according to Social Identity Theory, which refers to the impact of the ingroup on social attitudes. Differences in QoL can be understood by the accessibility of social activities in private-sheltered housing. Gender differences in ageism and QoL can be explained by women's better social adjustment. Findings should be regarded with caution because of the small sample.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

10.1097/00005650-199206000-00002

Tajfel, 1981, Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology

10.1037/1089-2680.9.4.291

10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.08.031

10.1093/geront/38.2.239

Lightman, 1992, A Community of Interests: The Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Unregulated Residential Accommodation

10.1097/00005650-199809000-00008

Levy, 2004, Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice against Older Persons, 49

10.1007/s11136-005-1743-0

10.1016/S0890-4065(00)08021-X

10.1017/S0714980800016093

Chapin, 2001, Aging in place in assisted living: philosophy versus policy, Gerontology, 41, 43

Butler, 1995, Encyclopedia of Aging, 38

Kite, 2002, Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons, 129, 10.7551/mitpress/1157.003.0009

Stewart, 1994, Aging and Quality of Life, 27

10.1080/tam.5.2.87.97

10.1017/S104161020999055X

10.1017/S0144686X03001417

Brodsky, 2001, The Elderly in Israel. The 2001 Statistical Abstract

10.1017/S1041610210001249

10.1080/09503150008415176

10.1017/S0144686X0500454X

10.1111/j.1532-5415.1999.tb07437.x

10.1093/geront/gnp030

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

International Psychogeriatrics

Tập 23 Số 8

1197-1204

Thông tin tác giả