Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article
Full-Length Research Report

A New Measure of Mobility-Related Behavioral Flexibility and Routines in Old Age

Published Online:November 13, 2017https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000176

Abstract

Abstract. Although daily out-of-home mobility is crucial for well-being in later life, the psychological determinants thereof are not yet fully understood. This study describes attitudes toward daily out-of-home mobility from a person-environment interaction perspective and develops an instrument to measure mobility-related behavioral flexibility and routines in old age. Data were drawn from 265 older adults (aged 65–99). An examination of the factorial structure using exploratory factor analysis revealed three main mobility-related factors: behavioral flexibility with regard to environmental challenges, behavioral flexibility with regard to personal challenges, and a preference for routines. The instrument demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and factorial validity. The study contributes toward a better understanding of the motivational aspects of daily out-of-home mobility in later life.

References

  • Altman, I. (1975). The environment and social behavior: privacy, personal space, territory, crowding. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Pub.Co. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Bitterwolf, W. (1992). Flexibilität des Handelns: empirische Untersuchungen zu einem Persönlichkeitskonstrukt [Behavioral flexibility: An empirical study of a personalty construct]. Regensburg: Roderer. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Brandes, H. (1980). Flexibilität und Qualifikation [Flexibility and qualification]. Darmstadt: Steinkopff. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Brandtstädter, J., & Renner, G. (1990). Tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment: Explication and age-related analysis of assimilative and accommodative strategies of coping. Psychology and Aging, 5, 58–67. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Buffel, T., McGarry, P., Phillipson, C., De Donder, L., Dury, S., De Witte, N., ... Verté, D. (2014). Developing age-friendly cities: Case studies from Brussels and Manchester and implications for policy and practice. Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 26, 52–72. doi 10.1080/08959420.2014.855043 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Carp, F. M. (1988). Significance of mobility for the well-being of the elderly. In Transportation in an aging society: improving mobility and safety for older persons (Vol. 2, pp. 1–20). Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board, National Research Council. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Chaudhury, H., & Oswald, F. (in press). Environments in an aging society: Autobiographical perspectives in environmental gerontology. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Volume 38. New York: Springer Publishing Company. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Cheng, C. (2001). Assessing coping flexibility in real-life and laboratory settings: A multimethod approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 814–833. doi 10.1037/0022-3514.80.5.814 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Claßen, K., Oswald, F., Doh, M., Kleinemas, U., & Wahl, H.-W. (2014). Umwelten des Alterns: Wohnen, Mobilität, Technik und Medien. In der Reihe “Grundriss Gerontologie” [Environments of aging: Housing, mobility, technology and media. Layout Gerontology]. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • DiPietro, L., Jin, Y., Talegawkar, S., & Matthews, C. E. (2017). The joint associations of sedentary time and physical activity with mobility disability in older people: The NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A. doi 10.1093/gerona/glx122. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Dunn, T. J., Baguley, T., & Brunsden, V. (2014). From α to ω: A practical solution to the pervasive problem of internal consistency estimation. British Journal of Psychology, 105, 399–412. doi 10.1111/bjop.12046 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Engeln, A. (2003). Zur Bedeutung von Aktivität und Mobilität für die Entwicklung im Alter [Activity and mobility and its influence on aging]. Zeitschrift Für Gerontopsychologie & -Psychiatrie, 16, 117–129. doi 10.1024//1011-6877.16.3.117 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Glitsch, E. (2015). Inventar zur Messung sozialer Kompetenzen in Selbst- und Fremdbild (ISK-360°) [Inventory for the measurement of social competence in the perception of self and others (ISK-360°)]. Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie A&O, 59, 95–101. doi 10.1026/0932-4089/a000179 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Golant, S. M. (2014). Residential normalcy and the enriched coping repertoires of successfully aging older adults. The Gerontologist. doi 10.1093/geront/gnu036.. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Golant, S. M. (2017). A theoretical model to explain the smart technology adoption behaviors of elder consumers (Elderadopt). Journal of Aging Studies, 42, 56–73. doi 10.1016/j.jaging.2017.07.003 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Greenfield, E. A., Oberlink, M., Scharlach, A. E., Neal, M. B., & Stafford, P. B. (2015). Age-friendly community initiatives: conceptual issues and key questions. The Gerontologist. doi 10.1093/geront/gnv005. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Heckhausen, J., & Schulz, R. (1995). A life-span theory of control. Psychological Review, 102, 284–304. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55. doi 10.1080/10705519909540118 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Kamin, S. T., Beyer, A., & Lang, F. R. (2016). Outdoor motivation moderates the effects of accessibility on mobility in old age. Zeitschrift Für Gerontologie Und Geriatrie, 49, 372–378. doi 10.1007/s00391-015-0946-4 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lawton, M. P. (1983). Environment and other determinants of weil-being in older people. The Gerontologist, 23, 349–357. doi 10.1093/geront/23.4.349 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lawton, M. P., & Nahemow, L. (1973). Ecology and the aging process. In C. EisdorferM. P. LawtonEds., The psychology of adult development and aging. (pp. 619–674). Washington: APA. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • McDonald, R. P. (1999). Test theory: A unified treatment. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Metz, D. H. (2000). Mobility of older people and their quality of life. Transport Policy, 7, 149–152. doi 10.1016/S0967-070X(00)00004-4 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Mollenkopf, H., Marcellini, F., Ruoppila, I., Széman, Z., & Tacken, M. (Eds.). (2005a). Enhancing mobility in later life – Personal coping, environmental resources, and technical support. The out-of-home mobility of older adults in urban and rural regions of five European countries. Amsterdam: IOS Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Mollenkopf, H., Baas, S., Marcellini, F., Oswald, F., Ruoppila, I., Széman, Z., ... Wahl, H.-W. (2005b). A new concept of out-of-home mobility. In H. MollenkopfF. MarcelliniI. RuoppilaZ. SzémanM. TackenEds., Enhancing mobility in later life – Personal coping, environmental resources, and technical support. The out-of-home mobility of older adults in urban and rural regions of five European countries (pp. 257–277). Amsterdam: IOS Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998). Mplus users’s guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Author. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Nordbakke, S., & Schwanen, T. (2014). Well-being and mobility: A theoretical framework and literature review focusing on older people. Mobilities, 9, 104–129. doi 10.1080/17450101.2013.784542 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Oswald, F., Jopp, D., Rott, C., & Wahl, H.-W. (2011). Is aging in place a resource for or risk to life satisfaction? The Gerontologist, 51, 238–250. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Oswald, F., & Rowles, G. D. (2006). Beyond the relocation trauma in old age: New trends in today’s elders’ residential decisions. In H.-W. WahlC. Tesch-RömerA. HoffEds., New dynamics in old age: Environmental and societal perspectives (pp. 127–152). Amityville, NY: Baywood. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Oswald, F., & Wahl, H.-W. (2013). Creating and sustaining homelike places in own home environments. In G. D. RowlesM. BernardEds., Environmental gerontology (pp. 53–77). New York: Springer-Verlag. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Oswald, F., Wahl, H.-W., & Kaspar, R. (2005). Psychological aspects of outdoor mobility in later life. In H. MollenkopfF. MarcelliniI. RuoppilaZ. SzémanM. TackenHrsg., Enhancing mobility in later life: Personal coping, environmental resources, and technical support. The out-of-home mobility of older adults in urban and rural regions of five European countries (pp. 173–194). Amsterdam: IOS Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Oswald, F., Wahl, H.-W., Martin, M., & Mollenkopf, H. (2003). Toward measuring proactivity in person-environment transactions in late adulthood: The housing-related Control Beliefs Questionnaire. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 17, 135–152. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Peel, C., Baker, P. S., Roth, D. L., Brown, C. J., Bodner, E. V., & Allman, R. M. (2005). Assessing mobility in older adults: The UAB Study of Aging Life-Space Assessment. Physical Therapy, 85, 1008–1019. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903. doi 10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rantakokko, M., Portegijs, E., Viljanen, A., Iwarsson, S., & Rantanen, T. (2013). Life-space mobility and quality of life in community-dwelling older people. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 61, 1830–1832. doi 10.1111/jgs.12473 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Reyer, M., Fina, S., Siedentop, S., & Schlicht, W. (2014). Walkability is only part of the story: Walking for transportation in Stuttgart, Germany. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11, 5849–5865. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rosenbloom, S. (1988). The mobility needs of the elderly. In Transportation in an aging society: improving mobility and safety for older persons (Vol. 2, pp. 21–71). Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board, National Research Council. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Rowles, G. D., & Bernard, M. (Eds.). (2013). Environmental gerontology. New York: Springer-Verlag. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. (2010). Defining place attachment: A tripartite organizing framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30, 1–10. doi 10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.09.006 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schaie, K.-W., Wahl, H.-W., Mollenkopf, H., & Oswald, F. (Eds.). (2003). Aging independently: Living arrangements and mobility. New York: Springer-Verlag. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Scheidt, R. J., & Norris-Baker, C. (2004). The general ecological model revisited: Evolution, current status, and continuing challenges. In H.-W. WahlR. J. ScheidtP. G. WindleyEds., Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics, Vol. 23 (Aging in context: Socio-physical environments) (pp. 59–84). New York: Springer Publishing Company. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23–74. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Slangen-de Kort, Y. A. W. (1999). A tale of two adaptations: coping processes of older persons in the domain of independent living. Eindhoven: University of Technology, Eindhoven. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Slaug, B., Chiatti, C., Oswald, F., Kaspar, R., & Schmidt, S. M. (2017). Improved housing accessibility for older people in Sweden and Germany: Short-term costs and long-term gains. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14, 964. doi 10.3390/ijerph14090964 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Stalvey, B. T., Owsley, C., Sloane, M. E., & Ball, K. (1999). The Life Space Questionnaire: A measure of the extent of mobility of older adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 18, 460–478. doi 10.1177/073346489901800404 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Wahl, H.-W., & Gitlin, L. N. (2007). Environmental gerontology. In J. E. BirrenEd., Encyclopedia of gerontology (2nd edition) (pp. 494–502). Oxford: Elsevier. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Wahl, H.-W., Iwarsson, S., & Oswald, F. (2012). Aging well and the environment: Toward an integrative model and research agenda for the future. The Gerontologist, 52, 306–316. doi 10.1093/geront/gnr154 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Wahl, H.-W., & Lang, F. R. (2004). Aging in context across the adult life: Integrating physical and social research perspectives. In H.-W. WahlR. ScheidtP. G. WindleyEds., Aging in context: sociophysical environments (pp. 1–35). New York: Springer-Verlag. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Wahl, H.-W., & Oswald, F. (2010). Environmental Perspectives on Ageing. In D. DanneferC. PhillipsonEds., The Sage handbook of social gerontology (pp. 111–124). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Wahl, H.-W., & Oswald, F. (2016). Theories of Environmental Gerontology: Old and new avenues for person-environmental views of aging. In V. L. BengtsonR. A. SetterstenEds., Handbook of theories of aging (pp. 621–641). New York: Springer-Verlag. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Wahl, H.-W., & Weisman, J. (2003). Environmental gerontology at the beginning of the new millennium: Reflections on its historical, empirical, and theoretical development. The Gerontologist, 43, 616–627. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Wanka, A. (2017). Disengagement as withdrawal from public space: Rethinking the relation between place attachment, place appropriation, and identity-building among older adults. The Gerontologist, gnx081, 1–10. doi 10.1093/geront/gnx081 First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S. D. (1996). A 12-Item short-form health survey: Construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Med Care, 34, 220–233. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Webber, S. C., Porter, M. M., & Menec, V. H. (2010). Mobility in older adults: A comprehensive framework. The Gerontologist, 50, 443–450. doi 10.1093/geront/gnq013 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • World Health Organization. (2001). International classification of functioning, disability and health: ICF. Geneva: Author. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Yeom, H. A., Fleury, J., & Keller, C. (2008). Risk factors for mobility limitation in community-dwelling older adults: A social ecological perspective. Geriatric Nursing, 29, 133–140. doi 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2007.07.002 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Ziegler, F., & Schwanen, T. (2011). “I like to go out to be energised by different people”: An exploratory analysis of mobility and well-being in later life. Ageing and Society, 31(5), 758–781. doi 10.1017/S0144686X10000498 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar