Residential normalcy and the enriched coping repertoires of successfully aging older adults

An earlier theoretical model equated the construct of residential normalcy with older persons positively appraising their residential environments. Failing to achieve congruent places to live, they initiate assimilative (action) or accommodative (mind) coping strategies. This paper theorizes that th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Gerontologist 2015-02, Vol.55 (1), p.70-82
Main Author: Golant, Stephen M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Aging - psychology
Environment Design
Gerontology
Health Status
Housing
Humans
Nursing homes
Older people
Quality of Life
Residence Characteristics
Resilience, Psychological
Special Issue: Successful Aging
Success factors
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Summary:An earlier theoretical model equated the construct of residential normalcy with older persons positively appraising their residential environments. Failing to achieve congruent places to live, they initiate assimilative (action) or accommodative (mind) coping strategies. This paper theorizes that the assimilative coping strategies of older persons depend on their secondary appraisal processes whereby they judge the availability, efficaciousness, and viability of their coping options. Older persons with more enriched coping repertoires are theorized as more resilient, making their own decisions, and with access to more resource-rich objectively defined resilient environments. Successful aging formulations infrequently examine how residential environmental adaptations of people influence the quality of their lives. Programmatically, the theory emphasizes the potential of individual and environmental interventions targeting older persons who are not aging successfully.
ISSN:0016-9013
1758-5341
DOI:10.1093/geront/gnu036