Environmental Predictors of Well-being for At-risk Older Adults in a Mid-sized City

Abstract

The influence of the physical and social environment on the well-being of a sample of 224 community-residing elderly adults is the focus of this study. Environmental predictors of well-being included house type, neighborhood quality, crime rate, age concentration at the block and census tract levels, distance to services and to city center, and social status of the neighborhood. These predictors were entered into five separate multiple linear regression analyses to determine the extent to which they explained the variance in five indicators of well-being: life satisfaction, activity level, social contacts, neighbor interaction, and neighborhood satisfaction. Personal characteristics of the respondents (sex, age, health, and social class) were controlled in these analyses. Well-being for this sample is associated with living in well-maintained neighborhoods that are primarily residential in character and that are located outside the center of the city.