Community access can be expected to have an important influence on the life satisfaction of the aged because of age-linked restrictions in social life space. Such access may be less important for older blacks, however, as a consequence of lifelong “ghettoization.” These hypotheses are tested using national survey data. Community mobility is found to have a stronger association with life satisfaction for older whites, while having only an indirect effect through social interaction for older blacks. Directions for future research are suggested.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
WellmanB., The Community Question: The Intimate Networks of East Yorkers, American Journal of Sociology, 84, pp. 1201–1231, 1979.
2.
CowgillD., Aging and Modernization: A Revision of the Theory, in Late Life: Communities and Environmental Policies, GubriumJ. (ed.), Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, 1974.
3.
KennedyJ. and DeJongG., Aged in Cities: Residential Segregation in 10 USA Central Cities, Journal of Gerontology, 32, pp. 97–102, 1977.
4.
CowgillD., Residential Segregation by Age in American Metropolitan Areas, Journal of Gerontology, 33, pp. 446–453, 1978.
5.
PampelF. and CholdinH., Urban Location and Segregation of the Aged: A Block-Level Analysis, Social Forces, 56, pp. 1121–1139, 1978.
6.
LaGoryM.WardR., and JuravichT., Explanations of the Age Segregation Process in American Cities, Urban Affairs Quarterly, 16, pp. 59–80, 1980.
7.
WardR., The Implications of Neighborhood Age Structure for Older People, Sociological Symposium, 26, pp. 42–63, 1979.
8.
LarsonR., Thirty Years of Research on the Subjective Well-Being of Older Americans, Journal of Gerontology, 33, pp. 109–125, 1978.
9.
WilliamsR. and LoebM., The Adult's Social Life Space and Successful Aging: Some Suggestions for a Conceptual Framework, in Middle Age and Aging, NeugartenB. (ed.), University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1968.
10.
HessB., Friendship, Aging and Society, Volume 3: A Sociology of Age Stratification, RileyM.JohnsonM., and FonerA. (eds.), Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1972.
11.
LowenthalM. and RobinsonB., Social Networks and Isolation, in Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, BinstockR. and ShanasE. (eds.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976.
12.
CarpF., Housing and Living Environments of Older People, in Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, BinstockR. and ShanasE. (eds.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976.
13.
CarpF., Life-Style and Location Within the City, The Gerontologist, 15, pp. 27–34, 1975.
14.
PeachC. (ed.), Urban Social Segregation, Longman, New York, 1975.
15.
BourgC., Elderly in a Southern Metropolitan Area, The Gerontologist, 15, pp. 15–22, 1975.
16.
GansH., The Urban Villagers, The Free Press, New York, 1962.
17.
SuttlesG., The Social Construction of Communities, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1972.
18.
DavisD., Growing Old Black, in The Multiple Hazards of Age and Race: The Situation of Aged Blacks in the United States, U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1971.
19.
National Council on the Aging, The Myth and Reality of Aging in America, Washington, 1975.
20.
NeugartenB.HavighurstR., and TobinS., Measurement of Life Satisfaction, Journal of Gerontology, 16, pp. 134–143, 1961.
21.
ClementeF. and SauerW., Race and Morale of the Urban Aged, The Gerontologist, 14, pp. 342–344, 1974.
22.
SauerW., Morale of the Urban Aged: A Regression Analysis by Race, Journal of Gerontology, 32, pp. 600–608, 1977.
23.
KarpD.StoneG., and YoelsW., Being Urban: A Social Psychological View of City Life, D. C. Heath, Lexington, Massachusetts, 1977.
