Abstract
Senior co-housing communities offer an in-between solution for older people who do not want to live in an institutional setting but prefer the company of their age peers. Residents of co-housing communities live in their own apartments but undertake activities together and support one another. This paper adds to the literature by scrutinizing the benefits and drawbacks of senior co-housing, with special focus on the forms and limits of social support and the implications for the experience of loneliness. Qualitative fieldwork was conducted in eight co-housing communities in the Netherlands, consisting of document analysis, interviews, focus groups, and observations. The research shows that co-housing communities offer social contacts, social control, and instrumental and emotional support. Residents set boundaries regarding the frequency and intensity of support. The provided support partly relieves residents’ adult children from caregiving duties but does not substitute formal and informal care. Due to their access to contacts and support, few residents experience social loneliness. Co-housing communities can potentially also alleviate emotional loneliness, but currently, this happens to a limited degree. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for enhancing the benefits and reducing the drawbacks of senior co-housing.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 3776 |
Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 19 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Oct 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Acknowledgments: As this was an exploratory study for the project Naar Verantwoorde Rebellie: Governance en Inspraak bij Collectieve Woonvormen voor Ouderen (Towards Responsible Rebellion: Governance of and Participation in Collective Living Arrangements for Older People), the writing of this paper was partly supported by the Regional Attention and Action for Knowledge Circulation (RAAK) scheme (MKB-3-37), which is managed by the Taskforce for Applied Research (Nationaal Regieorgaan Praktijkgericht Onderzoek SIA). This project runs from 2019 to 2021.Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.