THE ADAPTATION EXPERIENCE OF A SMALL NUMBER OF ELDERLY NEW RESIDENTS IN A NURSING HOME.
Contributors: New York University.
Published: 1994
Number of pages: 286
Subjects: Psychology, Developmental.; Psychology, General.; Psychology, Clinical.; Gerontology.
Description: In this observational study of elderly newcomers to a nursing home, four participants, two men and two women, were observed and interviewed, each over a period of approximately 18 months. In addition, a number of their friends and acquaintances were also observed, as were some relatives and key staff members of the nursing home.

The focus of the study was on the adaptation process as experienced by individuals going through a major life transition. The study was informed by the theoretical perspectives of cognitive psychology, of ego psychology, of life-span development, and on major life transitions.

Ethnographic methods were used. Participants were observed over a period of 18 months in public areas of the nursing home. They were interviewed on numerous occasions through informal chats and from one to four times through formal recorded interviews. Categories were generated from the data in three groupings: physical realities, social realities, and psychological realities.

Major subcategories included: first impressions, orientation to setting, rules and schedule, relationships with roommates, friendships, family relationships, relationships with staff, body image and physical functioning, drawing from the past, and redefining oneself in the present.

Themes which emerged revealed that most new residents observed felt that they did "not belong in a place like this" and tried to distinguish themselves from those whom they perceived to be less competent. Residents encountered many expressions of anger from their peers, which appeared to be exacerbated by crowded conditions in public areas and the lack of privacy. Social networks of peers changed continually. They provided companionship but not, as a rule, the opportunity for sharing feelings about death or other losses. Residents found new outlets for old interests and found ways of enlisting the help of others. Especially important were the cognitive coping strategies people used to deny or minimize loss, to redefine their situations favorably, or to compare themselves to those less fortunate. Participants looked to their past to reconcile themselves in their new status. Those who expressed most satisfaction at the end of their first year and a half were those with a strongly defined sense of themselves who knew how to manipulate the system.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: B, page: 4143.

Thesis (PH.D.)--NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, 1994.

School code: 0146.