To Come and Live into Intermediate Housing for the Elderly

Venir vivre dans un habitat pour personnes âgées

Alain Thalineau (1)

1 CITERES - Cités, Territoires, Environnement et Sociétés

Abstract: Non-dependent elderly people take the decision to move into intermediate housing for the elderly (residential homes, retirement homes and villages, shared housing, intergenerational housing, etc.). Studies have shown that the reasons driving individuals’ decisions to move are based on facts affecting their current situation. Above all, these include moving to be closer to family and friends, to feel less isolated, to feel safer by being in housing that is better adapted to their needs and/or providing possibilities of personal care and support, and to a lesser extent, to be in a pleasant environment. The aim of this article is to show that the decision is based on life-span factors. Biographical accounts of people living in this type of housing reveal that their decision was influenced by their social trajectory. It appears that the decision to move close to family and friends varies according to the importance played in the past by family activities in relation to other socially significant activities (professional and community activities, etc.). These variations depend mainly on social position, gender, and marital status

Mots clés: Vieillissement; habitat pour personnes âgées; trajectoire sociale

Domaines: Sociologie

Alain Thalineau. Venir vivre dans un habitat pour personnes âgées. Gérontologie et Société, 2016, 150. ⟨hal-01424777⟩