Space acquisition in dependant elderly people living in institution

Introduction. -The present study focuses on space acquisition process in dependant elderly people living in institution. Objective. -Our aim was to assess the role of the type of space and level of control on the quality of life in dependant elderly people living in institution. Method. -Three variables were examined. The type of space (private versus collective, evaluated with two scales), the level of control (Levenson's IPC and EHIPA) and the quality of life (SF-36 and Geriatric Depression Scale). Our sample consisted of 30 elderly people living in institution. Results. -Our results showed that: (1) subjects appropriate more the private space than the collective space; (2) the level of control influences the acquisition process of collective space but not private space; and (3) the more subjects appropriate the collective space, the better is their quality of life. Conclusion. -The results propose that potential applications should be developed in institution. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of Societe francaise de psychologie.