[Housing for the elderly : is the format the formula?]

This article discusses the existing links between four organizational characteristics of residency for the elderly as well as their psychological well-being. In order to identify these links, we have interviewed 238 elderly living in private housing facilities. Results show that two of the four organizational characteristics are associated with the psychological well-being of the elderly, vulnerable or not. These variables are the level of service and subjective perception the elderly have of their level of control on decision making qualified here as perception of environmental control. The results of this research shows the importance of offering different living environments with various characteristics which takes into consideration the capacities and the needs of the elderly.