Predictors of Florida retirees' housing decisions and housing adjustments

• Main Author: Yamamoto, Toshiko
• Other Authors: Douglass, Victoria S.
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Retirees > Housing > Florida; Retirees > Housing > Florida > Decision making; Retirees > Health and hygiene > Florida; Older people > Housing > Florida; Older people > Housing > Florida > Decision making; Older people > Health and hygiene > Florida
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1957/29790

This thesis addresses the issue of comfortable and functional living environments to provide seniors with opportunities for "age in place," that is, living in one's own house after retirement. Such living environments enhance seniors' life satisfaction since the majority of seniors prefer to stay in their own houses and live independently. In order to create suitable environments for seniors, professionals need to examine the relationships between seniors' housing behaviors and their living environments. Studying seniors' housing behaviors is particularly timely now as the first generation of baby boomers enters retirement and begins making increasingly large demands for adequate housing. This exigency emphasizes the urgent need for attention and understanding toward seniors' housing behaviors. This thesis investigates two groups of factors- physical abilities and medical conditions - which influence seniors' housing behaviors, examines characteristics of the groups, and compares the influences of the groups on seniors' housing behaviors according to hypotheses that the more problems the elderly have, the more effect these problems will have on adapting or changing housing. The thesis used data collected by Eleanor Palo Stoller, Ph.D. (with the support of a grant from the National Institute on Aging) from subjects who were elderly Finnish American retirees and other European American retirees in Florida. The results supported the assumption that the more functional and health problems the elderly have, the more changes the elderly will make to their houses. The thesis suggests further areas for research and ways to enhance seniors' housing arrangements. === Graduation date: 2005