Home Again: Environmental Predictors of Place Attachment and Self–esteem for New Retirement Community Residents

Abstract

This study examined the relative contribution of two dimensions of interior features functional and personal meaning—as predictors of place attachment and self–esteem for ninety–two new retirement community residents housed in independent living apartments or cottages of a recently opened continuing care retirement community (CCRC). Residents were interviewed and facilities observed as part of a multi–disciplinary, collaborative study. Stepwise regression determined which subsets of function and meaning variables respectively operated as the most important, independent predictors for place attachment and self–esteem. Hierarchical regression equations then examined the relationship between function and meaning variables in predicting place attachment and self–esteem, asking: exceeding the effects of function, does meaning add to a feeling of place attachment and self–esteem? For both place attachment and self–esteem, significantly more variance is accounted for when meaning variables are added to function variables. Once functional needs are met, both place attachment and self–esteem are elevated by interior features that have personal meaning. These findings expand the concept of hominess widely used in the design of residential caregiving settings.