The Adjustment to a New Home

This paper, an ethnographic study using grounded theory, explores the meanings of “home” and “care” for residents in an assisted living facility. The narratives of residents and staff in the setting are analyzed using the theoretical concepts of the abstract and concrete meanings of home as outlined by Groger (1995). This study finds that unlike in a nursing home, an assisted living setting provides the continuity of concrete meanings of home (the physical features and aesthetic appearance) but does not provide for the abstract meanings of home. The findings also reveal that residents have counter definitions of care from the definitions ofcare typically given by Staff.