ABSTRACT
Modern technology has made available to elderly individuals a wide variety of adaptations for the home capable of facilitating functional independence and minimizing the occurrence of injury. The actual acceptance and use of these adaptations by the elderly, however, is clearly dependent upon a host of factors. It appears that the housing literature has focused primarily on the development of adaptations to meet the physical needs of the elderly, and the affordability of these adaptations to those for whom they are designed. When psychological factors are mentioned in the literature, however, they are usually assigned a secondary or auxiliary role to the development and affordability issues. They have generally been regarded as a backdrop rather than as a major player on the stage where human behavior occurs. Correspondingly, their treatment in the housing literature has not been highly systematic, comprehensive, or cohesive. Thus, in the area of housing adaptations for the elderly, the impact of psychological factors has not gained conceptual or research prominence. This chapter seeks to bring psychological factors out of the backdrop and onto the stage as a major player. To achieve this, the chapter presents an organized, model-based exploration of salient issues in elderly consumers’ acceptance and use of home adaptations, describes alternative approaches to viewing consumer resistance, and considers implications for research and intervention.
