Neighborhood Social Spaces And Subjective Well-being Of Older Adults

Tuan (1974) described place as a center of meaning constructed by experience. Such meaning that bonds individuals with space generates place attachment, which is believed to help maintain wellbeing and to facilitate successful adjustments of older people, who in particular tend to draw meaning from the places in which they live (Wiles et al, 2009). A key idea of gerontological and geographical theories of place attachment is that older people with good place ties are more likely to feel in control, secure, and have a positive sense of self (Golant, 1984). Leisure activities with others may construct social spaces in order to restore social resources (Pressman et al., 2009), provide social support, and enrich meaning of life (Carruthers & Hood, 2004), thus may help enhance place attachment of older adults to their neighborhoods. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to examine the role of leisure experiences in improving the attachment to home and older adults’ subjective well-being; second, to explore how neighborhood social spaces bridge leisure with attachment to neighborhood and its subsequent impact on subjective well-being. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted 14 community-dwelling older people (8 males and 6 females) aged 60 and above in a Southern US college town. The participants age ranged from 60 to 75 years (mean age 64 years). Participants were asked to talk about their residential environment and leisure experiences. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The constant comparative method of grounded theory was used to analyze data. Interviews with older adults gave a rich account of leisure experiences, attachment to place, social spaces, and subjective well-being. Four themes emerged from the data analysis: bonding with family, social connectedness with friends and other residents, a sense of security and stability, and meaningless neighborhood experience. The identified themes show that (1) Home, as social space for intergenerational interaction is the most important place for developing place attachment for older adults. Leisure experiences such as family parties help enhance such attachment, maintain older adults’ sense of parental/grandparental identity, feel in control, and improve their satisfaction of family life. (2) Social interactions through leisure activities in neighborhoods with friends or other residents is another source of place attachment. Recreation centers, parks, and volunteering opportunities gave older adults opportunities to build/enhance friendship, increase the meaning of life, and keep emotional balance. A sense of belonging to the neighborhood emerged through social interaction then enhances the feeling of secure and stability. (3) The lack of social space for older adults decreases the place attachment and the meaning of community life. Older adults have to find alternative leisure opportunities to compensate for the loss of such social space in order to maintain their level of subjective well-being. These findings suggest that neighborhood planners should consider social needs and leisure opportunities of older adults when designing spaces for this age group. It is not only about function, but also about meaning of space

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