The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Aging Well and the Environment: Toward an Integrative Model and Research Agenda for the Future

På svenska

Author

Summary, in English

The effects of the physical-spatial-technical environment on aging well have been overlooked both conceptually and empirically. In the spirit of M. Powell Lawton's seminal work on aging and environment, this article attempts to rectify this situation by suggesting a new model of how older people interact with their environment. Goals of the paper include (a) integration of the essential elements of the ecology and aging literature, particularly in regard to Lawton's research, (b) development of connections between traditional theories of ecology of aging and life span developmental models of aging well, (c) acknowledgment of the pronounced historical and cohort-related changes affecting the interactions of older people with their environment, and (d) discussion of the implications of this analysis for concepts and theories of aging well. The model builds on a pair of concepts: environment as related to agency and belonging, founded in motivational psychology, and developmental science. After describing the model's key components, we discuss its heuristic potential in four propositions for future gerontological research and identify implications of the model for future empirical research.

Publishing year

2012

Language

English

Pages

306-316

Publication/Series

The Gerontologist

Volume

52

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Topic

  • Gerontology, specializing in Medical and Health Sciences

Keywords

  • Ecology theory of aging
  • Physical-spatial-technical environment
  • Agency
  • Belonging
  • Person-environment resources

Status

Published

Project

  • Home, Health and Disability along the Process of Ageing

Research group

  • Sustainable occupations and health in a life course perspective

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1758-5341