Last modified: 2014-09-11
Abstract
The present contribution concerns a field study focusing on the elderly experience of relocation into community residential settings. The aim of the study is to analyze and compare the effects of different design and social features of this kind of residences in influencing psychological responses of elderly users. The study participants (N=114) were elderly individuals (i.e., above 65 years old), who were contacted in eleven residential facilities, which differ for the degree of architectural humanization assessed by an architect who filled in an “expert” grid. A set of measures covering the various aspects of the humanization construct and other intra-psychological (such as psychological well-being) and psycho-environmental responses (such as satisfaction toward the residential experience and feelings of broken home attachment) were included in a questionnaire filled in by the participants. Preliminary factorial analyses and reliability analyses showed acceptable properties of the scales. Results show i) significant differences between the responses of residents living in the high- vs. low-humanization structures, and ii) significant correlations between perceived environmental qualities (regarding both spatial-physical, socio-relational and functional features) and, respectively, satisfaction toward the residential experience, feelings of broken home attachment, and psychological well-being. These outcomes provide empirical evidence to the importance of caring residences' design quality in order to both support elderly needs and foster their health, wellbeing and quality of life.
Keywords
References
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