Social adjustment of the elderly residing in institutional homes: a multivariate analysis

An attempt was made to determine the order of magnitude of a number of variables which a bivariate analysis had demonstrated to show some degree of correlation with the way in which institutionalized elderly individuals adapt socially. To determine the multivariate impact of all these variables on the degree of social adjustment to life in a home, a path model was developed that permitted detection of both the direct and indirect effect of the variables. It was found that loneliness was the main factor underlying failure to adjust. Furthermore, widowhood and being alone seem to have a considerable influence. The degree of disability and the age of the individual proved to have a smaller impact than we had assumed to be the case. The operationalized model explains 27% of the variance of the social adjustment in a home for the elderly.