Construction Research Congress 2020
Conceptual Model among Neighborhood Environment, Personal Competence, and Quality of Life of Older Adults Aging in Place: Based on “The Ecological Theory of Aging”
Publication: Construction Research Congress 2020: Project Management and Controls, Materials, and Contracts
ABSTRACT
For older adults who are aging in place, the neighborhood environment plays a pretty important role in their lives due to their functional impairment and low mobility. The ecological theory of aging pointed out that the relative relation between the personal competence and environmental press from their neighborhood environment would impact on older adults. This study aims to investigate how this relative relation impacts on the quality of life (QoL) of older adults. The hypothesis of the conceptual model of “P-E-Q” is established based on the ecological theory of aging. Variables and its measurable items are designed to assess the neighborhood environmental press, personal competence, and QoL of older adults. 192 eligible older adults aging in place are surveyed. Reliability test and linear regression analysis are adopted to verify measurable items and analyze qualitative data. Results of linear regression analysis shows difference value between personal competence and neighborhood environmental press can explain 42.3% of the variance of QoL of older adults. It reveals that the difference value between personal competence and neighborhood environmental press has a significant influence on QoL of older adults, supporting the hypothesis of the conceptual model of “P-E-Q”. The neighborhood environment should be improved to fit the competence of older adults who age in place. This study provides valuable strategies to optimize neighborhood environment for supporting aging in place.
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Published In
Construction Research Congress 2020: Project Management and Controls, Materials, and Contracts
Pages: 982 - 991
Editors: David Grau, Ph.D., Arizona State University, Pingbo Tang, Ph.D., Arizona State University, and Mounir El Asmar, Ph.D., Arizona State University
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8288-9
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© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Nov 9, 2020
Published in print: Nov 9, 2020
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