Presentation Title
Agency in Aging: How the Social Environment of a Retirement Community Shapes Agency among the Elderly
Abstract
Sociologists have long been concerned with total institutions, in which people live, work and take leisure in the same space, and sameness of experience is promoted. Recently, there have been growing movements among total institutions, particularly the long-term care industry, to allow for more individualized experiences. The social movement toward resident-directed care lacks focus on human agency, defined as the ability to recall past experiences in juxtaposition with the present to act toward a desired future. Agency is an important element of authentic selfhood, and the goal of this study is to understand how agency is expressed in long-term care settings.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Dale Jaffe
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Sociology
Primary Research Category
Social Sciences
Agency in Aging: How the Social Environment of a Retirement Community Shapes Agency among the Elderly
Sociologists have long been concerned with total institutions, in which people live, work and take leisure in the same space, and sameness of experience is promoted. Recently, there have been growing movements among total institutions, particularly the long-term care industry, to allow for more individualized experiences. The social movement toward resident-directed care lacks focus on human agency, defined as the ability to recall past experiences in juxtaposition with the present to act toward a desired future. Agency is an important element of authentic selfhood, and the goal of this study is to understand how agency is expressed in long-term care settings.