Understanding Nursing Home Residents' Lives Through the Lens of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation Theory

The current study examined the importance of personal goals to residents; assessed whether goal-related behavior was associated with mental health factors (i.e., depression, experiential avoidance, and quality of life); and explored residents' use of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) strategies. Interviews were conducted with eight residents at a nursing home along with paper-and-pencil measures of mental health factors. Transcripts were coded first for goal content and subsequently analyzed using an exploratory qualitative method. Most residents (five of eight) denied having goals. Experiential avoidance and depression were significantly negatively correlated with goal content; quality of life was significantly positively correlated with goal content. Eleven themes derived from exploratory analysis suggest SOC processes were important in residents' lives. The study demonstrated the relevance of SOC for residents' quality of life. The potential for developing person-centered interventions to evoke implicit goals and facilitate attainment is discussed. [Research in Gerontological Nursing, 14(6), 277-284.].