Citation

Christensen DL, Carp FM. J. Environ. Psychol. 1987; 7(1): 45-64.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, Academic Press)

DOI

10.1016/S0272-4944(87)80044-0

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The residential environment occupies a special place in the lives of older adults, and satisfaction with the residential environment has been linked with general psychological well-being among the elderly. While older residents may be especially sensitive to environmental conditions, few studies have established strong empirical linkages between objective residential variables and subjective satisfaction with living units (LUs) and local areas (LAs). The purpose of this study is to explore critical issues in environmental assessment using a case study sample of 88 elderly female residents. Alternative techniques for defining multi-item variables are discussed, including a multiple regression process employing Perceived Environmental Quality Indices (PEQIs) as initial criteria. In the case study, the PEQI-based scaling technique was used to develop 26 environmental variables representing objective resource attributes of LUs and LAs. Twelve of the fifteen environmental scales at the LU level were significantly correlated with general living unit satisfaction, and seven of the eleven environmental scales at the LA level were significantly correlated with general satisfaction with the local area. Multiple regression analyses using the PEQI-based variables explained 31% of the variance in LU satisfaction and 20% of the variance in LA satisfaction after controlling for personal characteristics of residents. Interpretation and application of the environmental scales for assessing residential settings are discussed. Although qualified in their generalizability, positive results of the case study support further development and validation of the PEQIbased scaling technique.