AGING ON THE FARM: TOWARD A MODEL OF PASSIONATE PLACE ATTACHMENT ________________________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by DIANA L. INGHAM Ruth Brent Tofle, PhD, Dissertation Supervisor DECEMBER 2009 1 © Copyright by Diana Lynn Ingham 2009 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled AGING ON THE FARM: TOWARD A MODEL OF PASSIONATE PLACE ATTACHMENT Presented by Diana Lynn Ingham, a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and hereby certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. ______________________________________________________ Ruth Brent Tofle, PhD ______________________________________________________ Benyamin Schwarz, PhD ______________________________________________________ Newton DeSouza, PhD ________________________________________________________ Mary Grigsby, PhD _______________________________________________________ Myra Aud, PhD DEDICATION This research is dedicated to my family, but especially to my son Joe. I am lucky to have such a supportive and wonderful son. To the farmers who participated and farmers everywhere, I include this poem written by Marie Laswell to my mother around the time parents were married in the mid 1940s. Who is that Executive in Overalls? By: Marie Laswell What is a farmer? Farmers are found in fields – plowing up, seeding down, rotating from, planting to, fertilizing with, praying for, and harvesting if. Wives help them, little boys follow them, salesmen detain them, meals wait for them, weather can delay them, but nothing can stop them. A farmer is a paradox. He is an overalled executive with his office in his home. He is a scientist who uses fertilizer attachments, a purchasing agent in an old straw hat, a personnel director with grease under his fingernails, a dietician with a passion for fresh fruits and vegetables, a production expert faced with a surplus, and a manager battling a price-cost squeeze. He manages more capital than most of the business men in town. He likes sunshine, good food, country fairs, dinner at noon, auctions, his neighbors, his shirt collar unbuttoned, and above all, an above-average annual rainfall. He is not much for droughts, ditcher freeways, weeds, the eight hour day, dusty roads, development, insects, diseases, freezing weather, or helping around the house. Nobody else gets so much satisfaction out of modern plumbing, good weather, automatic furnaces, electric blankets, and home-made ice cream. Nobody else has in his jacket at one time a three bladed knife, a checkbook, a billfold, a pair of pliers and a combination memo book and general farm guide. A farmer is both Faith and Fatalist. He must have faith to meet the challenge of his capacities amid the ever-present possibility that an act of God (a late spring, an early frost, flood, drought) can bring his business to a sudden halt. You can reduce his acreage, but you can‟t diminish his optimism. Might as well put up with him. He is your friend, your competitor, your customer, your source of food and fiber. He is your countryman – a denim-dressed business-wise statesman of stature. And when he comes in at noon having spent the energy of his hopes and dreams, he can be recharged anew with the magic words…”The Markets Up”! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS An endeavor such as this one is never done alone and there are many people to thank. First and foremost I want to thank and acknowledge the input and guidance provided by my dissertation committee: Ruth Tofle, Benyamin Schwarz, Newton DeSouza, Mary Grigsby, and Myra Aud. Appreciation is given as well to the University of Missouri Extension Specialists who helped connect me with older farmers in their counties. This research was totally dependent on farmers speaking with me and I am at so grateful for those who chose to participate in this research. There are several people who deserve special thanks. My advisor, Ruth Tofle, gave me the needed encouragement and support for this research. Her belief in me and my research topic were important in this process. Three special friends donated a lot of time to read multiple drafts of this research and give fresh eyes to the material. Marsha Alexander, Jo Randolph, and Ruth Siress‟ viewpoints and proofing abilities were invaluable to me. Mary Hedberg was instrumental in Word formatting. I am in their debt. Finally, I must acknowledge my colleagues in my graduate cohort, especially Ellen Fisher, Vivian Izsack, Mary Stankos, Micky Trost, and Lisa Tucker. The constant encouragement and feedback we have given to each other has led to the development of true friendship. They have enriched my life and their support has been crucial over the past four years. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... II LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. VII LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. XI ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... XIII CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................... 5 Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................... 5 Definition of Terms........................................................................................ 5 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................. 9 Questions to be Answered ........................................................................... 10 Significance of the Study ............................................................................. 11 Assumptions and Limitations of the Study .................................................. 11 Organization of the Remainder of the Study ............................................... 12 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................ 14 Competence Press Model ............................................................................. 14 Control Theory ............................................................................................. 15 Meaning of Place Theory and Place Attachment ......................................... 18 Aging in Place .............................................................................................. 20 Rural Elderly ................................................................................................ 26 Restorative Qualities of Nature .................................................................... 29 Older Farmers .............................................................................................. 30 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS .................................................. 34 Social Constructivism .................................................................................. 34 iii Interpretivism ............................................................................................... 35 Symbolic Interactionism .......................................................................... 36 Description of Methodology ........................................................................ 37 Grounded theory methodology................................................................. 37 Design of Study............................................................................................ 39 Sample and Population ................................................................................ 39 Data Collection ............................................................................................ 41 Interviews ................................................................................................. 41 Elicited participant photographs............................................................... 44 Data Analysis ............................................................................................... 45 Coding ...................................................................................................... 45 Memo-Writing .......................................................................................... 49 Visual Analysis of Photographs ............................................................... 51 Ethical Issues ............................................................................................... 53 Validity Issues .............................................................................................. 53 Strengths and Limitations of Study ............................................................. 55 Researcher Bias ............................................................................................ 57 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS ........................................................................... 59 Population Sample ....................................................................................... 59 Interviews ..................................................................................................... 65 Individual ................................................................................................