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How do seniors evaluate retirement homes? The effects of functional congruity, self-congruity, and lifestyle congruity

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Abstract

The current debate on demographic change often revolves around seniors (over 65-years-old), their housing preferences, and their spatial mobility. Our study contributes to this discussion by examining how seniors make evaluations concerning retirement homes guided by concepts such as functional congruity, self-congruity, and lifestyle congruity. An experimental study was conducted involving 325 Austrian and 546 French seniors (60+). The results were supportive of the hypotheses that seniors evaluate retirement homes positively when they (1) perceive the retirement home to have high service quality (high functional congruity), (2) identify with the occupant residents (high self-congruity), (3) believe that living in the retirement home is consistent with their own lifestyle (high lifestyle congruity), and (4) anticipate feeling satisfied with their social life, leisure life, health, love life, and life overall (high anticipated life satisfaction).

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Funding

No funds, grants, or other support was received.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NEOMA Business School, Rouen, France

    Stephan Grzeskowiak

  2. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    M. Joseph Sirgy

  3. University of Karl-Franzens, Graz, Austria

    Thomas Foscht

  4. University of Trier, Trier, Germany

    Bernhard Swoboda

  5. University of Tours, Tours, France

    Veronique Plichon

  6. University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Marie-Christine Lichtle

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  1. Stephan Grzeskowiak
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Correspondence to Stephan Grzeskowiak.

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Appendices

Appendix A Experimental Conditions

 

High

condition

Low

condition

Functional congruity

You just moved in into a retirement home. Now you are sitting in your room and reflecting on the quality of the retirement home. You have been quite happy with the cleanliness of the rooms, the meals are well-prepared and taste good, and the personnel have been very helpful and friendly.

You just moved in into a retirement home. Now you are sitting in your room and reflecting on the quality of the retirement home. You have not been happy with the cleanliness of the rooms, the meals were not well-prepared and did not taste good, and the personnel have not been very helpful or friendly.

Self-congruity

You have met a number of other residents in the retirement home. The good news is that they appeared to be similar to you in many respects (age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, background, etc.).

You have met a number of other residents in the retirement home. The bad news is that they did not appear to be similar to you in many respects (age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, background, etc.).

Lifestyle congruity

Also, the retirement home provides you with the opportunity to continue your hobbies like you used to. It is also located conveniently so that you can continue your social life in the community.

Also, the retirement home did not appear to provide you with the opportunity to continue your hobbies like you used to. Also, it is not located conveniently so that you can continue your social life in the community.

Appendix B: Dependent measure, measure of the covariate, and manipulation checks

Dependent Measure: Housing Evaluation (α = 0.97; Mattila & Wirtz 2001; 5-point Likert scales)

To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of these statements?

  1. a.

    I would truly enjoy living at this type of retirement home.

  2. b.

    I would feel quite satisfied living at this type of retirement home.

  3. c.

    I would be very satisfied with this type of retirement home.

  4. d.

    I would always feel good in this retirement home.

Measure of the Covariate: Anticipated Life Satisfaction (formative indicator; Neal et al., 2007; 5-point Satisfaction scales).

How would you feel about your life in this retirement home? (5-point satisfaction rating scale)

  1. a.

    Your social life.

  2. b.

    Your leisure life.

  3. c.

    Your health.

  4. d.

    Your marital (or love) life.

  5. e.

    Your life overall.

Manipulation Check: Self-Congruity (α = 0.92; Grzeskowiak et al., 2016; 5-point Likert scales).

Imagine a typical resident in this type of retirement home. To what degree do you agree with the following statements?

  1. a.

    They are like me.

  2. b.

    I can identify with them.

  3. c.

    I see myself as the same.

  4. d.

    They are like the person that I like to be.

  5. e.

    I aspire to be like them.

  6. f.

    I would like to see myself as similar to them.

Manipulation Check: Lifestyle Congruity (α = 0.91; 5-point Likert scales).

Please indicate how you think living at this type of retirement home would compare to your lifestyle?

  1. a.

    There is a logical connection between my lifestyle and living at this retirement home.

  2. b.

    The retirement home and my lifestyle fit together well.

  3. c.

    Living in this retirement home would allow me to enhance my lifestyle.

  4. d.

    With my lifestyle it makes sense to live in this retirement home.

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Grzeskowiak, S., Sirgy, M.J., Foscht, T. et al. How do seniors evaluate retirement homes? The effects of functional congruity, self-congruity, and lifestyle congruity. J Hous and the Built Environ 37, 1723–1743 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-021-09919-9

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