scholarly journals Envy and Jealousy of Living-Apart-Together Relationships in Continuing Care Retirement Communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 382-382
Author(s):  
Chaya Koren ◽  
Liat Ayalon
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Living Apart Together ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Abstract Moving to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) and living apart together (LAT) as a repartnering form, represent new late-life beginnings. A larger qualitative study on LAT relationships constructed in the CCRC identified envy and jealousy yet they were not examined in-depth. Envy is wanting something we lack whereas jealousy is fear of losing something that is ours to another. These emotions are rarely explored in the context of older adults’ relationships. Our aim is to examine experiences of envy and jealousy from perspectives of residents aged 79 to 96 and staff, heuristically using Goffman’s framework on (semi)-totalitarian institutions. 30 semi structured qualitative interviews were conducted in three CCRCs in Israel with 10 LAT residents, 10 residents not LAT, and 10 CCRC staff members including social workers. Analysis was conducted based on principles of thematic analysis and triangulation. Findings refer to kinds of envy, ignoring envy, and the development and consequences of jealousy and/or envy related to LAT in the CCRC. Conclusions address how semi-totalitarian CCRC features influence envy and jealousy experiences including implications for assisting social workers, older adults and their family members to adjust to life in the CCRC and assist CCRC management and staff to address possible consequences of envy and jealousy.

Envy and Jealousy of Living apart Together Relationships in Continuing Care Retirement Communities: Perspectives of Staff and Residents

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaya Koren ◽  
Liat Ayalon
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Living Apart Together

Abstract Moving to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) and living apart together (LAT) as a repartnering form represent new late-life beginnings. A large study on LAT relationships constructed in CCRCs identified envy and jealousy, yet they were not examined in-depth. Envy is wanting something we lack, whereas jealousy is fear of losing something that is ours to another. These emotions are rarely explored in the context of older adults’ relationships. Using Goffman’s framework of (semi)-totalitarian institutions, our aim is to heuristically examine experiences of envy and jealousy from the perspective of residents and staff. In total, thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted in three CCRCs in Israel with ten LAT residents, ten non-LAT residents and ten CCRC staff members, including social workers. Findings refer to kinds of envy, ignoring envy and the development and consequences of LAT-related jealousy and/or envy in CCRCs. The discussion and conclusions address how semi-totalitarian CCRC features influence envy and jealousy experiences. They include implications for social work practice with older adults and their family members regarding adjustment to life in the CCRC and may assist CCRC management and social workers in addressing possible consequences of envy and jealousy.

“Not living together yet all the time together”: The construction of living apart together in continuing care retirement communities from perspectives of residents and CCRC staff*

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 3855-3874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaya Koren ◽  
Liat Ayalon
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Living Apart Together ◽  
The Social ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Person Environment Fit ◽  
Living Together ◽  
New Beginnings

Moving to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) and living apart together (LAT) late in life are occurrences representing new beginnings in old age. However, they may also involve restrictions related to partnership characteristics and to the semi-totalitarian features of the CCRC. From community, person-in-environment and person–environment fit/misfit approaches, we aim to examine how LAT relationships are constructed in the CCRC from perspectives of residents and CCRC staff as members of the same semi-totalitarian communities. This could provide new understandings on CCRC features and LAT relationships for enhancing residents’ quality-of-life. A total of 30 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted in three CCRCs in Israel: 10 with widowed LAT residents, 10 with widowed residents not LAT, and 10 with CCRC staff. The interviews were analyzed based on thematic analysis and triangulated to produce a broad and rich experience of LAT in the CCRC. Two themes that characterize LAT relationships in the CCRC were identified: (1) friendship rather than partnership characterize the LAT relationship and (2) not living together yet being all the time together. The intersection between the social environment (the CCRC) as a semi-totalitarian institution and the persons (residents in LAT and not in LAT and CCRC staff) is discussed. The discussion focuses on LAT relationships in the CCRC as representing exclusive friendship and the limited autonomy associated with not living together yet being all the time together. Implications on micro, mezzo, and macro levels are suggested.

Perceived barriers and contributors to sense of purpose in life in retirement community residents

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Nathan A. Lewis ◽  
Naomi Reesor ◽  
Patrick L. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Sense Of Purpose ◽  
The Social ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Retirement Facilities

Abstract Despite the growing use of retirement communities and ageing care facilities, little is known about how residing in retirement residences may impact aspects of older adult wellbeing. Living in these communities may hold particular influence on residents’ sense of purpose, if they feel limited in their opportunities for individual action, or could serve to promote purposefulness depending on the social connections available. The current study sought to explore contributing factors as well as barriers to purpose in older adults living in three continuing care retirement communities. Using brief semi-structured interviews, 18 older adults were asked to describe their purpose in life, community-related activities and any perceived challenges limiting their ability to pursue this purpose. Thematic analysis was used to examine themes common across interviews. Interviews presented a mixed picture of the nature of purposefulness in retirement facilities. Residents espoused several benefits of community living such as social and leisure opportunities, while also noting several obstacles to their purpose, including health concerns and the belief that purpose in life was not relevant for older adults. These findings provide insight into how older adults can derive a sense of purpose from activities within their retirement community and how facilities can better tailor programmes to promote purposefulness and support personally valued roles for residents.

scholarly journals ‘We have become prisoners of our own age’: from a continuing care retirement community to a total institution in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liat Ayalon ◽  
Sharon Avidor
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Total Institution ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Total Institutions ◽  
Design And Methods ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Background and objectives during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Israel, people residing in continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) found themselves under strict instructions to self-isolate, imposed by the CCRC managements before, during and after the nationwide lockdown. The present study explored the personal experiences of CCRC residents during the lockdown. Research design and methods in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 CCRC residents from 13 different CCRCs. Authors performed a thematic analysis of interview transcripts, using constant comparisons and contrasts. Results three major themes were identified: (i) ‘Us vs. them: Others are worse off’. Older residents engaged in constant attempts to compare their situation to that of others. The overall message behind these downward comparisons was that the situation is not so bad, as others are in a worse predicament; (ii) ‘Us vs. them: Power imbalance’. This comparison emphasised the unbalanced power-relations between older adults and the staff and management in the setting and (iii) ‘We have become prisoners of our own age’. Interviewees described strong emotions of despair, depression and anger, which were intensified when the rest of society returned back to a new routine, whilst they were still under lockdown. Discussion and implications the measures imposed on residents by managements of CCRCs during the lockdown, and the emotional responses of distress among some of the residents, revealed that CCRCs have components of total institutions, not normally evident. This underscores the hidden emotional costs of the lockdown among those whose autonomy was compromised.

Validity of the Multidimensional Outcome Expectations for Exercise Scale in Continuing-Care Retirement Communities

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 456-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine S. Hall ◽  
Thomas R. Wójcicki ◽  
Siobhan M. Phillips ◽  
Edward McAuley
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Functional Performance ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Outcome Expectations ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Best Fit

Objective:The current study examined the psychometric properties and validity of the Multidimensional Outcome Expectations for Exercise Scale (MOEES) in a sample of older adults with physical and functional comorbidities.Methods:Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the hypothesized 3-factor model in 108 older adults (M age 85 yr) residing in continuing-care retirement communities.Results:Analyses supported the 3-factor structure of the MOEES reflecting physical, social, and self-evaluative outcome expectations, with a 12-item model providing the best fit. Theorized bivariate associations between outcome expectations and physical activity, self-efficacy, and functional performance were all supported.Conclusions:The 12-item version of the MOEES appears to be a reliable and valid measure of outcome expectations for exercise in this sample of older adults with physical and functional comorbidities. Further examination of the factor structure and the longitudinal properties of this measure in older adults is warranted.

Transition and Adaptation to the Continuing Care Retirement Community From a Life Course Perspective: Something Old, Something New, and Something Borrowed

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liat Ayalon
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Future Expectations ◽  
Linked Lives ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Community

The study examined the accounts of older adults and their adult children concerning the transition to the continuing care retirement community (CCRC) and the adjustment to it, using a life course perspective. Up to three waves of interviews, consisting of a total of 187 interviews with older adults and their adult children, were conducted between 6 months and 6 years from the transition to the CCRC. Thematic analysis was employed using comparisons across groups of interviewees (older adults and adult children) and waves of interviews (up to three waves) to identify core categories of meaning. Time perception was an organizing principle across interviews. Both older adults and their adult children perceived themselves as moving forward and backward in time following the transition to the CCRC and future expectations for deterioration. The study emphasizes the linked-lives of older adults and their adult children.

scholarly journals Enhancing Collaborations between our Age-Friendly Community and University Initiatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 100-100
Author(s):  
Brian Pastor ◽  
Wendy Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Aging Services ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The University

Abstract Community involvement and synergistic partnerships are key to fostering a holistic approach to programming and outreach that assess and meet the needs of the older adults in our communities. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has created an Age-Friendly network to facilitate these partnerships featuring our designation of Age-Friendly City and Age-Friendly University as well as partnerships with our state and local governments, community aging services providers, and continuing care retirement communities. Through these partnerships, we have identified the landscape of the community, assessed the unique needs older adults, and identified novel solutions. We will discuss our plans for activities that will empower older adults in our community and at our university by promotion connection, collaboration, and inclusion.

scholarly journals Assessing physical and cognitive function of older adults in continuing care retirement communities: Who are we recruiting?

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 159-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbie P. Wrights ◽  
Christie W. Fain ◽  
Michael E. Miller ◽  
W. Jack Rejeski ◽  
Jeff D. Williamson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
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