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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough,margins, substandard and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313'761-4700 800:521-0600 Order Number 9505181 H o m e as trading post: Attachment factors in elders’ decisions about living arrangements Copenhaver, Mary Maclay, Ph.D. The Ohio State University,1994 Copyright ©1994 by Copenhaver, Mary Maclay. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 HOME AS TRADING POST: ATTACHMENT FACTORS IN ELDERS' DECISIONS ABOUT LIVING ARRANGEMENTS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Mary Maclay Copenhaver, R.N., B.A., M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 1994 Dissertation Committee: Erika Bourguignon Approved by Dorothy Jackson Richard H. Moore Adviser Amy Zaharlick Department of Anthropology Copyright by Mary Maclay Copenhaver 1994 To My Family ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude and respect to the members of my committee: To my adviser, Professor Erika Bourguignon, for mentoring that insists on challenging dogma and assumptions and for her friendship; to Professor Dorothy Jackson who teaches that old age flows from the stages that go before--how artificial are etic categories imposed by members of younger "cultures"; to Professor Richard H. Moore for opening up a window on another culture in the throes of rapid change and highlighting both the similarities and differences to the American experience; to Professor Amy Zaharlick for emphasizing the importance of practice grounded in theory and the necessity for ongoing dialogue between the two. It is never possible to acknowledge all the help provided by one's family--from gentle encouragement to goading. For ably fulfilling all kinship roles and more, I thank my husband Henry, daughters Lauren, Jody, Wendy, and Cindy, their spouses and children. Special thanks to Jody for invaluable computer assistance. VITA June 12, 1934..............Born, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania 1955.........................Diploma, Nursing, Huron Road Hospital School of Nursing, Cleveland, Ohio 1981.........................B.A., Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Major - Social Sciences (Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology) 1986......................... M.A., Ohio State University Anthropology 1990......................... Admission to Candidacy Ph.D. 9/1955 - Present.......... Nursing Practice PUBLICATIONS 1986 A Career For All Reasons. Nursing Management, vol. 17, no. 5, Pp. 42-44. 1989 Hospital Privileges for Physicians: A Law Within or Without the Law? Abstract of paper given at the session: New Aspects of American Law; Interwoven Diversity, 88th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Washington, DC, November 15-19, 1989. iv FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Anthropology Psychological Anthropology Anthropology of Aging Developmental Psychology v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION....................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................iii VITA........................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES............................................... ix CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION......................................... 1 The Problem...................................... 1 Type of Study.................................... 3 Sample Selection................................ 5 A Brief Introduction........................... 8 Value of the Study..............................15 The Question.....................................16 Attachment....................................... 17 Living Arrangements.............................20 Choice............................................ 21 Notes to Chapter I..............................27 II. LITERATURE REVIEW................................. 2 9 Introduction..................................... 2 9 Cul ture............................................30 The Individual in Culture and Vice Versa....35 Enculturation.................................... 38 Attachment........................................ 41 Aging Theory..................................... 51 Attachment into Old Age........................ 59 Decisions......................................... 66 Notes to Chapter II............................. 79 vi III. METHODOLOGY.......................................... 81 Introduction..................................... 81 Formulation of the Question....................81 Selection of Method............................. 82 Personal Characteristics of Researcher...... 87 Selection of Informants........................ 91 The Research Process............................ 93 Method of Analysis.............................. 99 Notes to Chapter III...........................105 IV. THE ELDERS......................................... 106 Introducti on.................................... 106 Fern............................................... 108 Toddy.............................................Ill William.......................................... 116 Ducky.............................................120 Dinah.............................................123 Doris.............................................126 Gertrude......................................... 129 Lyon..............................................133 Nancy.............................................136 Francesca........................................139 Notes to Chapter IV............................144 V. HOUSING CHOICES AND CHOOSING HOUSING.......... 145 Historical Factors............................. 145 Considerations in Housing Arrangements Now.148 Open Market.--Unsorted by Age................. 151 Open Market--Sorted by Age....................155 Packaged Services--Independent 1y-chosen. .. .158 Packaged Services--Def aul t ....................169 Notes to Chapter V ............................. 176 VI. SCOREKEEPING.......................................178 Int roduct i on.................................... 178 Dependency.......................................179 Characteristics of Scorekeepers..............182 Characteristics of Non-Scorekeepers.........184 Contrasts........................................185 Attachment and Scorekeeping.................. 191 Notes to Chapter V I ............................197 vii VII. CONCLUSIONS 198 Review........................................... 198 The Ten Informants--Reprise.................... 200 Further Research............................... 211 Notes to Chapter VII........................... 223 APPENDIX.....................................................224 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................ 225 viii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Informants' Situation (1994)..................... 26 2. Early Childhood.....................................77 3. Total Population by Age and Sex: 1980-1981.... 78 4. Interview Schedule................................ 104 5. Demographic Characteristics..................... 143 6. Informants in a Continuum of Housing Choices.175 7. Early Childhood Revisited....................... 196 8. Core Dependency Patterns.........................222 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Problem What are the attachment factors in elders' decisions about living arrangements? The question first occurred, to me while carrying out a series of interviews for a term paper a few years ago. The interviewee was an eighty-four-year-old widow, newly established in a "retirement village." She spoke with obvious regret about leaving her home and friends of forty years in another state. She and her husband had been charter members of a church in which she was still active until the move. They had raised three children there and all those memories of their triumphs and tribulations in the process were situated in that place. She had not worked outside the home but had been a dedicated volunteer worker for both the YMCA and YWCA. None of the children remained in that city but numbers of friends and church members expressed willingness to assist with errands and transportation if she would stay. But she would not. She moved to the retirement "village" in the city where 2 a son and his family

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