The effects of place attachment on social well-being in older adults

Abstract

ABSTRACTSocial well-being and place attachment are two important concepts in health and quality of life of older adults. There are few studies on the relationship between these concepts at the individual level. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of place attachment dimensions on social well-being dimensions in older adults. This study was a descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted on 550 community-dwelling older adults in a metropolitan area of Tehran. Participants were selected using a multistage cluster sampling approach. A Persian version of the Social Well-being Scale and the Place Attachment Scale were used to collect data. Data analysis was performed using an independent t test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis by IBM SPSS statistics V.22 software. Findings showed that place identity, place dependence, and social relations in neighborhood explained, respectively: (β = .34), (β = .26), (β = .09) of the variance in social integration; (β = .36), (β = .23), (β = .18) of the variance in social acceptance; (β = .24), (β = .23), (β = .16) of the variance in social contribution; (β = .27), (β = .22), (β = .17) of the variance in the social actualization. In social coherence, place identity (β = .33) and social relations in the neighborhood (β = .13) were significant predictors (p < .05). The results of this study revealed that the place attachment is a strong predictor for the social well-being of older adults. Any change in the place of attachment leads to changes in the social well-being of the elderly.