Working Paper Summary 00-09
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Pathways Working Paper #00-09 Erickson, M. A., Dempster-McClain, D., Whitlow, C., & Moen, P. (2000, April). Does Moving to a Continuing Care Retirement Community Reduce or Enhance Social Integration?.
Mary Ann Erickson, Ithaca College
Phyllis Moen, Cornell University
Donna Dempster-McClain, Cornell University
Carol Whitlow, Cornell University
Objectives
Compare social contact, social participation, and perceived social integration in a group of older adults before and after moving to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC).
Key findings
- Overall levels of contact with children stayed the same after the move, while contact with friends and neighbors increased.
- Many respondents took advantage of volunteer opportunities at the new CCRC (23%). Volunteering increased for men and women after the move; more people joined a social club or started volunteering who hadn’t done so formerly.
- Objective connectedness- attendance at religious services and volunteer participation- promotes an increase in perceived social integration following the move to a CCRC.
Implications
Moving to a CCRC appears to enhance objective connectedness and perceptions of being integrated, especially those most at risk of isolation (being older, in poor health, being a single woman).
Ithaca College
Center for Health Sciences
Ithaca, NY 14850
Phone: (607) 274-1965
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