Attitudes of Functionally Independent Residents Toward Residents Who Were Disabled in Old Age Homes: The Role of Separation Versus Integration

Abstract

The issue of attitudes of elderly people toward their peers, particularly in residential settings, has been the subject of few investigations. This study examines the extent to which residents who are functionally independent express positive and negative attitudes toward residents who live in the nursing wards of the same facilities and investigates the factors that best explain the differences in their attitudes, in particular the effect of type of the facility. The study was conducted in two facilities, one characterized by integration between the residents who are functionally independent and the residents who are disabled, and the second by separation. In each facility a sample of 70 residents who are functionally independent was selected and interviewed face-to-face, using a structured questionnaire. The findings showed that, with regard to positive attitudes, no significant differences were found between the residents of the two types of facilities; however, those who lived in the integrated facility expressed more negative attitudes toward the residents who were disabled than their peers in a separated facility. The variables that best explained interindividual variability in attitudes toward the residents who were disabled were the type of facility, the preference of the respondent for the type of facility in which to live, economic status, and gender.