Individual Differences Underlying the Dwelling Satisfaction of the Elderly

Dwelling satisfaction is identified often as a subjective indicator of a population's quality of life and as a predictor of residential relocation plans and preferences. In old age, the dwelling is an especially important part of the individual's total life situation. Because objective indicators of housing quality incompletely and misleadingly explain the variations in older persons' reported dwelling satisfaction, a set of individual characteristics are proposed as antecedents. Structured interview data were collected from a random sample of 400 persons aged 60 and over living in a midwestern, middle class community. It was found that old people who were more satisfied with their dwellings were less favorably disposed toward stimulating or novel environments, were happier with their lives, traveled less frequently outside their dwellings, lived longer in their present residences, were home owners, and were less likely to report financial difficulties. The findings emphasize the difficulties of interpreting subjective indicators of housing quality for policy and planning purposes.