Residential satisfaction and its related factors among older adults in Sanandaj city

With the advancement of technology and health and medical sciences, the population of the elderly is increasing all over the world, in such a way that the population of people aged sixty years or more is estimated to reach 2.03 billion by 2050 (Nations, 2015; Zhao & Chung, 2017). The elderly are among the valuable capitals of any country and a symbol of the development of societies. As a result, understanding the needs of this part of the society and planning to meet their needs can improve their quality of life and life expectancy (Moghimi & Momeni, 2019). In most epidemiological studies, the factors affecting the health of the elderly have been studied, one of which is satisfaction with their place of residence, with a great impact on the performance and well-being of the elderly (Balfour & Kaplan, 2002). Satisfaction with the place of residence is an important issue in environmental psychology because it is one of the most prominent environments in human experience, especially for the elderly; For those with physical and financial limitations, their homes and places of residence often make up the focus of their daily lives, which makes it very important to understand and identify the factors affecting satisfaction with the place of residence (Rioux & Werner, 2011). Satisfaction with the place of residence is a factor with great impacts on the health, performance, well-being, and quality of life of the elderly. In Iran, however, there have not been enough studies in the field of environment and aging. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the level of satisfaction with the place of residence and the relevant factors in the elderly in the city of Sanandaj, Iran.
Theoretical Framework
In the present study, the theoretical framework of Rioux and Warner’s research was used. This framework includes two parts of satisfaction levels: residence and predictive factors. The examined levels of satisfaction with the place of residence included the assessment of the dimensions of the neighborhood (beauty, safety, etc.), access to services and shopping centers (transportation and conditions of sidewalks), social relations with neighbors (mutual, positive respect and respect for privacy, and internal features of the house (desirability, comfort of accommodation, absence of coercion, etc.). The investigated predictive factors included the convenience of the physical environment (properties of the residence, distance from shopping centers, and distance from green spaces), social environment (meetings, visits, and transition in the neighborhood), self-perceived well-being (self-perceived health, self-perceived economic status, etc.), and demographic characteristics (age, gender, household size, etc.) have been investigated (Rioux & Werner, 2011).

The present research is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study that was performed on 280 older people in the city of Sanandaj, Iran in 2021. The population included all the residents of Sanandaj aged 60 years or older. In this study, the multistage cluster sampling method was used. The data were collected using a questionnaire measuring satisfaction with the place of residence, and the SPSS software version 24.0 was used to analyze the data.

The mean age of the older adults in the present study was 68.34 with a standard deviation of 7.26, and 55% of the participants were men. The mean score of satisfaction with the place of residence in this study was 3.65 with a standard deviation of 0.54, the lowest mean score pertained to the quality of the surrounding environment (mean = 3.51, sd = 0.90), and the highest mean concerned the facilities (mean = 3.85, sd = 0.78). Significant relationships were found between satisfaction with the place of residence and the following according to the results of bivariate analysis: gender (t = 2.47, p < 0.01), marital status (t = 4.52, p < 0.001), academic degree (f = 22.62, p < 0.001), employment status (f = 10.96, p < 0.001), economic status (f = 60.81, p < 0.001), length of stay in the neighborhood (r = -0.29, p < 0.001), general well-being (r = 0.60, p < 0.001), economic well-being (f = 60.10, p < 0.001), and self-perceived health status (f = 32.58, p < 0.001). According to the multilinear regression model, controlling the simultaneous effects of the predictor variables demonstrated that the participants with better general well-being, economic well-being, and health status were more satisfied with their places of residence. Moreover, the elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence than those who lived in houses. Overall, the regression model explained 59% of the changes in satisfaction with the place of residence among the participants.

According to the results, there was a significant relationship between satisfaction with the place of residence and well-being (general well-being, self-perceived health, and financial well-being). These results are in line with those of Rioux’s study. The elderly who considered themselves more active and healthier reported the highest satisfaction with their places of residence, because the more capable and active people are, the more easily they can match and adapt themselves to their residential conditions and places of living (Rioux & Werner, 2011) The results of the present study also demonstrated that the elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence than those who lived in houses. In James’s study, however, different and even contradictory results have been expressed. In some of the studies mentioned in this research, dissatisfaction has been reported with life in apartments because of overcrowded buildings; dissatisfaction has been stated with houses, on the other hand, as the residents may be far from each other in terms of location, leaving the residents less capable of establishing social connections (James, 2008). The results of this research also indicated that there is moderate satisfaction with the residence among the elderly. The findings can help policy-makers in the field of housing and urban planning to pay attention to the level of satisfaction of the elderly and their health and well-being.