The distance to death perceptions of older adults explain why they age in place: A theoretical examination

Abstract

Older persons prefer to age in place or stay put in their current dwellings and move less frequently than any other age group. However, current residential mobility theories do not fully account for these preferences and behaviors because they focus on why older people move rather than on why they remain in their dwellings and do not consider the temporal or human developmental context of these residential decisions. It is essential to understand why older persons are reluctant to move because their ability to age successfully—have healthy, independent, active, and enjoyable lives—depends on where they live. When they stay put, they also rely more on family caregivers and paid home care providers to maintain their independence, rather than on the supportive services offered by senior group facilities, such as assisted living. They demand more home modification and financial service products, and their residential decisions influence the supply of housing that younger populations can potentially buy or rent. This paper's theoretical analysis proposes that Carstensen's socioemotional selectivity theory (SST), a lifespan theory of motivation, improves our understanding of why older persons age in place—either in their dwellings or more broadly in their communities. It offers an alternative interpretation of how life-changing events, such as retirement, lower incomes, spousal death, physical limitations, and health declines, influence their residential decisions. Whereas residential mobility theories view these transitions as disruptions that change the appropriateness or congruence of where older people live, SST proposes that older persons perceive these events as signs or cues that they are closer to death and must differently prioritize their goals and emotional experiences. Feeling their time is “running out,” older persons are motivated to stay put because moving requires preparations that are physically and emotionally trying and they are able to adapt to their current housing shortcomings. Their residential environments are now also a source of difficult-to-replace positive emotions and provide them with a supportive network of intimate and reliable interpersonal relationships. It is challenging for them to learn how to safely and efficiently conduct their usual activities and routines in another location and to establish new residential attachments and social connections. They would benefit from any net positive emotional payoffs only in a distant future, an unattractive prospect when they perceive a limited time left to live. Empirical studies must test the theoretical propositions presented in this paper. However, the disproportionally large projected future growth of the age 75 and older population with a heightened awareness of their limited time left to live should be a strong rationale for such investigations.

Staying put out of choice or constraint? The residential choice behaviour of Dutch older adults

“…Interestingly, in literature, residential stability is often treated as the absence of the event, rather than as an occurrence in its own right (Atkins, 2018; Coulter et al, 2016; Hanson, 2005). Also, since migration theories focus on why older adults move, rather than on why they remain in their current dwellings, they do not seem to fully account for older adults' decisions to stay put (Golant, 2020).…”

“…Recently, there have been a few promising theories that could improve our understanding of why older adults choose to stay put, such as ‘the prospect theory’ and the ‘socioemotional selectivity theory’ (for more information, see: Clark & Lisowski, 2017; Golant, 2020). Both theories question the more neo‐classical economic equilibrium approach to migration and state that older adults might not necessarily choose the highest expected utility because they are more concerned about losing what they have than about what they might gain.…”

“…Recently, there have been a few promising theories that could improve our understanding of why older adults choose to stay put, such as 'the prospect theory' and the 'socioemotional selectivity theory' (for more information, see: Clark & Lisowski, 2017;Golant, 2020). Both…”

“They’re not leaving their home; this is where they were born, this is where they will die.”: Key Informant Perspectives From the U.S. Counties With the Greatest Concentration of the Oldest Old

“…This is especially true for older adults aging in place with a strong sense of place attachment (Rubinstein & A Parmelee, 1992). For them, place attachment may be associated with an appreciation of the value of social connections and logistical arrangements in their current context (Golant, 2020; Roy et al, 2018). Further, beyond long-standing place attachment, older adults’ environmental and community context is associated with current quality of life and wellbeing (or lack thereof; Greenfield et al, 2015), especially for older adults who are in relatively good health (Gobbens & Van Assen, 2018; Ralston, 2018).…”

Factors of Parental Preparation of Children with Mental Illnesses for Their Independent Living after Their Own Death

“…Because parental death impacts children’s mental health, parents with a life-limiting illness often communicate with their children to prepare them for their own death [ 17 ]. Previous studies have focused on communicating with older adults regarding their advanced care planning [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], parental death preparation for children with cancer or other serious diseases [ 22 , 23 ], and mental illnesses [ 24 ]. A literature review also revealed that support programs for parentally bereaved children aged 0–18 years effectively prevented mental health issues [ 23 ].…”