Centre for Policy on Ageing



Daily life and forms of "communitas" in a personal care home for elders
Author(s)	Jean Spencer, Gayle Hersch, John Aldridge
Journal title	Research on Aging, vol 23, no 6, November 2001
Pages	pp 611-632
Keywords	Social characteristics [elderly] ; Social interaction ; Nursing homes ; Anthropological studies ; United States of America.
Annotation	Anthropological theories of liminality and communitas associated with rites of passage are used in this study. Purposes of this article are to: describe daily life in terms of its setting, activities and social systems (elements of normal communitas); and examine cultural beliefs and values that may foster ideological and existential communitas. Ethnographic methods included participant observations and semi-structured interviews. Ongoing data analysis and interpretation suggest that factors fostering social cohesion include a small-scale residential environment, a familiar round of activity routines, a social system with flexible roles of residents and staff, and a culture in which mutual support of those with varying capabilities is valued. Some of these qualities, for which residents and staff used the metaphors of "home" and "family", might be purposely cultivated in other residential settings for older people. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-011115212 A
Classmark	F: TMA: LHB: 3FA: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.