Abstract:
As seen by previous research, many of the factors relating mental health to environment can be integral to an aged person's demonstration of a degree of social competence, his/her mental health, and his/her happiness. The present study investigated the effects of positive life experiences in relation to living situations. Subjects ranged in age from 58 to 95 and were volunteers from one of three types of residency: "retirement village," nursing home, or the community. The instruments used were the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (Total P score), the InternalExternal Control Scale, and a questionaire designed to investigate the availability of different types of programming, the individual's control or contribution to those programs, and level of participation. Demographic data regarding age, sex, and education were also collected.One-way analysis of variance and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation were used to analyze the data. The results indicated no significant relationship between either the measures on self-concept or locus of control and questionaire items except in the case of item 7 ("I participate in the majority of the various activities here."). Responses to this item were significantly correlated with self-concept. The hypotheses expecting community residents to have a higher self-concept and be more internal than nursing home residents and expecting high self-concept to be significantly related to an internal locus of control were not supported. However, it was found that higher self-concept significantly correlated with the degree of social participation of an individual.
