1 / 33

Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies. Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults. Frans Thissen. Outline. Part 1 Introduction Concepts Results: the cumulative character of vulnerability (a demanding environment)

ora
Download Presentation

Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults Frans Thissen

  2. Outline Part 1 • Introduction • Concepts • Results: the cumulative character of vulnerability (a demanding environment) • Possibilities of (in)formal care (a supportive environment) • Conclusions Part 2 • Questions • The conceptualisation and measurement of person-environment fit • Research project in Eastern Gelderland villages Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  3. “WHEN I'M SIXTY-FOUR”When I get older losing my hair,Many years from nowWill you still be sending me the Valentine,Birthday greetings, bottle of wine Paul McCartney (1967) THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING OLD (Young) Adults have not ‘been there’. ‘Being old’ creates the potential of empathy, recognition, sharing and understanding. Chris Pilo (2003), however about the study of youth. GROWING OLD: LOSS Loss of health (biological) Loss of social roles (social-cultural) Loss of social capital (functional social resources) Theo van Tilburg (2005) Introduction Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  4. UvA research about older people • Older people in villages • Zeeland, Drenthe, Gelderland (1995 & 2009), Noord-Holland • Old People in Europe’s Rural Areas (OPERA) • Clare Wenger: types of social support networks • European study of Adult Well-being (ESAW) • Clare Wenger, Thomas Scharf, Vanessa Burholt • PhD Marieke van der Meer • Multiple disadvantage of older immigrants and non-migrants in deprived neighbourhoods in Amsterdam • PhD Sabine van derGreft Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  5. Concepts • Vulnerability • Environment / Neighbourhood (demanding / supporting) • Environmental stress • Environmental docility hypothesis • Person-environment fit Literature: Meer, M. van der, J. Droogleever Fortuijn & F. Thissen (2008), Vulnerability and environmental stress of older adults in deprived neighbourhoods in The Netherlands. TijdschriftvoorEconomische en SocialeGeografie, Vol 99, 1, p. 53-64. Droogleever Fortuijn, J.C., M.J. van der Meer & F. Thissen (2006). Kwetsbareouderen en de kwaliteit van de buurt. Rooilijn, 39 (5): 245-250. Meer, M. Van der (2006), Older adults and their socio-spatial integration in the Netherlands, Netherlands Geographical Studies 345, KNAG / UvA, Utrecht / Amsterdam, Chapter 6 Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  6. Vulnerability (1) • Definition: “aggregate of all factors that negatively affect independent functioning in daily life” • Multidimensional concept with cumulative effects • Balance between burden vs. bearing capacity (Deeg) • Views on vulnerability / frailty (SCP) • Result of irreversible developments (health, social networks) Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  7. Vulnerability (2) Dimensions: • Individual: personal functional dependency • Personal health status • Behavioural consequences • (Instrumental) activities of daily living: (I)ADL, measures of independent functioning • Household: resources • Presence of other people • Adequacy of household income • Environmental context Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  8. Environment / Neighbourhood Work of environmental psychology (Lawton) and environmental gerontology (Phillipson, Scharf) Environment: • Demanding vs. supportive character of the environment • Changing character of the (local) community (Phillipson) • ‘Elected’ and ‘Excluded’ • Person-environment fit (Keaton) • Older people as active agents • Temporal dimension: place connectivity (Burholt) Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  9. Neighbourhood deprivation • Neighbourhood deprivation: multidimensional concept (Musterd) • Low income • Non-participation and non-integration (social security payments) • Relevant characteristics for social mobility of (young) adults • Neighbourhood deprivation dimensions for older people • Housing and care: quality dwellings, public domain and access to services • Self reliance • Wellbeing (social climate) • Belonging and identity Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  10. Environmental stress • Definition: “process in which people experience emotional distress in relationship to environmental exposures” (Baum et al 1982; Dupéré & Perkins 2007) • ‘Being out of place’ (Rowles & Walkins, 2007) • Measuring environmental stress • Dissatisfaction with the neighbourhood • Feelings of safety Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  11. Environmental docility hypothesis (Lawton 1982) • “the less competent the individual, the greater is the impact of environmental factors on that individual” • Older adults without functional limitations and with adequate household resources are able to live satisfying lives in a variety of not only favourable, but also unfavourable environments. • Frail older adults with few resources are hypothesised to experience high levels of environmental stress in terms of neighbourhood dissatisfaction and feelings of unsafety in deprived neighbourhoods, while feeling satisfied and safe in non-deprived neighbourhoods. Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  12. Data and methods ESAW NL • Dutch ESAW dataset 2002-2003, structured face-to-face interview with 1939 older people (50-90 years, non-institutional) • Stratified random sample (12 geographical strata) • Three regions: central, peri-urban, peripheral • Urban / rural • Deprived / non-deprived • Sample proportionate to national distribution of eight age / gender groups • Response rate 43 percent • Descriptive analyses and logistic regression analyses Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  13. Older adults in The Netherlands Deprived neighbourhood Non-deprived neighbourhood 25 % functional dependent 22 % low income 24 % lives alone 18 % lives whole life in current settlement Access to dwelling by stairs 9 % • 36 % functional dependent • 45 % low income • 28 % lives alone • 30 % Lives whole life in current settlement • Access to dwelling by stairs: 14 % Source: Esaw-NL 2002-2003 Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  14. Cumulative character of vulnerability (1) Source: Esaw-NL 2002-2003 Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  15. Cumulative character of vulnerability (2) Source: Esaw-NL 2002-2003 Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  16. Possibilities of (in)formal care (a supportive environment) Dependent older people in deprived neighbourhoods receiving informal care experience less environmental stress than older people receiving formal care Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  17. Conclusions • Most older people: self reliant, feel at home, active agents • Vulnerable people are more likely to experience negative effects from environmental deprivation • Risks of socialisation of care • Accumulation of personal, household and environmental vulnerability results in environmental stress (cumulative character of vulnerability) • The importance of the quality of the neighbourhood Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  18. Questions: the conceptualization and measurement of person-environment fit of olderadults Make a list or scheme of concepts that represents the concept of person-environment fit of older people in a village Develop some ideas for ‘measurement’: topic list or questions in questionnaire Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  19. Research design – conceptual model Explanatory variables: Dependent variables: Person-environment fit Life history characteristics Self-reliance (housing, care) Individual characteristics Feeling at home (belonging, identity) Contextual characteristics Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  20. Research region: Eastern Gelderland Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  21. Research region: Eastern Gelderland Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  22. Data • Women and men > 55 years • 1995 survey 285 women, 230 men • 1995 interviews 15 women, 10 men • 2009 survey 285 women, 230 men • 2009 interviews 15 women, 8 men Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  23. Traditional-Modern Vulnerable-successful Indicators of modernity and person-environment fit • Driving license • Car availability • Experience with paid work • Educational level • Satisfaction with dwelling • Satisfaction with village • Feelings of safety locally • Attachment to village • Active outside home Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  24. Traditional / Modern Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  25. Four situations of person-environment fit Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  26. Traditional successful: Nel • 75 years • Lives 50 years in small village M. • Married with farmer • Active in community life (choir, noaberschap, dialect) • Feels perfectly at home • Feels safe “I leave the keys in my car and everybody could take the car and I let all the doors open and there is always coffee for anybody who drops in” Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  27. Traditional vulnerable: Corrie • 86 years • Wheelchair • 45 years in industrial village B. • Low involvement in community life • Knows less and less people • Feels unsafe “The tight community is still there but has gone underground” Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  28. Modern vulnerable: Anna • 68 years • 34 years in small village L. • Active in social activities outside village (tennis, classical music) • Few contacts in village • Feels not at home • Feels unsafe “L. does not feel as ‘my’ village” Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  29. Modern successful: Marjan • 68 years • Born in large village K., but lived longtime outside village • Active in aqua fitness, badminton and voluntary work (Third World shop, Red Cross, local crafts) in village • Helps people, knows many people in village • Feels at home • Feels safe • Actively anticipates on later life in village “I have spotted my future house in the village” Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  30. Person environment fit: Vulnerable older women / type of village Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  31. Criticalhumanecologyviewpointonageing “ …olderadults are notpassiverecipients of the environments in whichthey live, but have varyingcapacities to makechoices and to act on and adapttheir environments” (Keating and Phillips, 2008, p. 4) Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  32. Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults

  33. Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies Vulnerability and the person-environment fit of older adults Frans Thissen

More Related