Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T10:20:10.679Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘I like to go out to be energised by different people’: an exploratory analysis of mobility and wellbeing in later life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2011

FRIEDERIKE ZIEGLER  and
TIM SCHWANEN
FRIEDERIKE ZIEGLER*
Affiliation:
Institute for Life Course Studies, Keele University, Keele, UK.
TIM SCHWANEN
Affiliation:
Transport Studies Unit, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK and Department of Human Geography and Planning, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
*
Address for correspondence: Friederike Ziegler, Institute for Life Course Studies, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper adds to the growing number of studies about mobility and wellbeing in later life. It proposes a broader understanding of mobility than movement through physical space. Drawing on the ‘mobility turn’ in the social sciences, we conceptualise mobility as the overcoming of any type of distance between a here and a there, which can be situated in physical, electronic, social, psychological or other kinds of space. Using qualitative data from 128 older people in County Durham, England, we suggest that mobility and wellbeing influence each other in many different ways. Our analysis extends previous research in various ways. First, it shows that mobility of the self – a mental disposition of openness and willingness to connect with the world – is a crucial driver of the relation between mobility and wellbeing. Second, while loss of mobility as physical movement can and often does affect older people's sense of wellbeing adversely, this is not necessarily so; other mobilities can at least to some extent compensate for the loss of mobility in physical space. Finally, wellbeing is also enhanced through mobility as movement in physical space because the latter enables independence or subjectively experienced autonomy, as well as inter-dependence in the sense of relatively equal and reciprocal social relations with other people.

Keywords

mobilitieswellbeingqualitative methodsCounty Durham (UK)
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 31 , Issue 5: Wellbeing, Independence and Mobility , July 2011 , pp. 758 - 781
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adler, G. and Rottunda, G. 2006. Older adults' perspectives on driving cessation. Journal of Aging Studies, 20, 3, 227–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, J. 2008. Older People and Wellbeing. Institute for Public Policy Research, London. Available at http://www.ippr.org/publicationsandreports/publication.asp?id=620 [Accessed 29 March 2010].Google Scholar
Alsnih, R. and Hensher, D. A. 2003. The mobility and accessibility expectations of seniors in an aging population. Transportation Research A: Policy and Practice, 37, 10, 903–16.Google Scholar
Ayis, S. A., Bowling, A., Gooberman-Hill, R. and Ebrahim, S. 2007. The effect of definitions of activities of daily living on estimates of changing ability among older people. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 30, 1, 39–46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Banister, D. and Bowling, A. 2004. Quality of life for the elderly: the transport dimension. Transport Policy, 11, 2, 105–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowling, A. 2005. Ageing Well: Quality of Life in Old Age. Open University Press, Maidenhead, UK.Google Scholar
Bowling, A. and Gabriel, Z. 2007. Lay theories of quality of life in older age. Ageing & Society, 27, 6, 827–48.Google Scholar
Carlisle, S. and Hanlon, P. 2007. The complex territory of well-being: contestable evidence, contentious theories and speculative conclusions. Journal of Public Mental Health, 6, 1, 8–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carp, F. M. 1988. Significance of mobility for the well-being of the elderly. In Transportation Research Board (ed), Transportation in an Aging Society: Improving Mobility and Safety for Older Persons, Volume 2. Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 1–19.Google Scholar
Cutler, S. J. 1972. The availability of personal transportation, residential location, and life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 27, 3, 383–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cvitkovich, Y. and Wister, A. 2001. The importance of transportation and prioritization of environmental needs to sustain wellbeing among older adults. Environment and Behavior, 33, 6, 809–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davey, J. A. 2007. Older people and transport: coping without a car. Ageing & Society, 27, 1, 49–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Health 2005. Independence, Well-being and Choice: Our Vision for the Future of Social Care for Adults in England. Social Care Green Paper, Stationery Office, London. Available online at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4106477 [Accessed 29 March 2010].Google Scholar
Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E. and Smith, H. L. 1999. Subjective well-being: three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 2, 276–302.Google Scholar
Fine, M. and Glendinning, C. 2005. Dependence, independence or inter-dependence? Revisiting the concepts of ‘care’ and ‘dependence’. Ageing & Society, 25, 4, 601–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleuret, S. and Atkinson, S. 2007. Wellbeing, health and geography: a critical review and research agenda. New Zealand Geographer, 63, 2, 106–18.Google Scholar
Föbker, S. and Grotz, R. 2006. Everyday mobility of elderly people in different urban settings: the example of the city of Bonn, Germany. Urban Studies, 43, 1, 99–118.Google Scholar
Frello, B. 2008. Towards a discursive analytics of movement: on the making and unmaking of movement as an object of knowledge. Mobilities, 3, 1, 25–50.Google Scholar
Gabriel, Z. and Bowling, A. 2004. Quality of life from the perspectives of older people. Ageing & Society, 24, 5, 675–91.Google Scholar
George, L. K. 1981. Subjective well-being: conceptual and methodological issues. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2, 345–82.Google Scholar
George, L. K. 2000. Well-being and sense of self: what we know and what we need to know. In Schaie, K. W. and Hendricks, J. (eds), The Evolution of the Aging Self: The Societal Impact of the Aging Process. Springer Publishing Company, New York, 1–35.Google Scholar
Gilroy, R. 2007. Taking a capabilities approach to evaluating supportive environments for older people. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 1, 3–4, 343–56.Google Scholar
Gilroy, R. 2008. Places that support human flourishing: lessons from later life. Planning Theory and Planning, 9, 2, 145–63.Google Scholar
Hanson, P. 1977. The activity patterns of elderly households. Geografiska Annaler, Series B: Human Geography, 59, 2, 109–24.Google Scholar
Harrison, A. and Ragland, D. 2003. Consequences of driving reduction or cessation for older adults. Transportation Research Record, 1843, 96–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hildebrand, E. D. 2003. Dimensions in elderly travel behaviour: a simplified activity-based model using lifestyle clusters. Transportation, 30, 3, 285–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iedi, H. and Muraki, Y. 1999. Can improved mobility raise the elderly's sense of fulfilment? Japan Railway and Transport Review, 20, 1, 14–21.Google Scholar
Kahn, R. L. and Juster, F. T. 2002. Well-being: concepts and measures. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 4, 627–44.Google Scholar
Kahneman, D. and Krueger, A. B. 2006. Developments in the measurement of subjective well-being. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20, 1, 3–24.Google Scholar
Kaiser, H. J. 2009. Mobility in old age: beyond the transportation perspective. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 28, 4, 411–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katz, S. 1983. Assessing self-maintenance: activities of daily living, mobility, and instrumental activities of daily living. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 31, 12, 721–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keyes, C. L. M., Shmotkin, D. and Ryff, C. D. 2002. Optimizing well-being: the empirical encounter of two traditions. Journal of Psychology and Social Psychology, 82, 6, 1007–22.Google Scholar
Lawton, M. P. and Brody, E. M. 1969. Assessment of older people: self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. The Gerontologist, 9, 3, 179–86.Google Scholar
Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., Kunkel, S. R. and Kasl, S. V. 2002. Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 2, 261–70.Google Scholar
Lowe, P. and Speakman, L. 2006. The Ageing Countryside: The Growing Older Population of Rural England. Age Concern England, London.Google Scholar
Lucas, R. E. 2007. Adaptation and the set-point model of subjective well-being: does happiness change after major life events? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 2, 75–9.Google Scholar
Marottoli, R. A., Mendes de Leon, C. F., Glass, T. A., Williams, C. S., Cooney, L. M. Jr, Berkman, L. F. and Tinetti, M. E. 1997. Driving cessation and increased depressive symptoms: prospective evidence from the New Haven EPESE. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 45, 2, 202–6.Google Scholar
Marottoli, R. A., Mendes de Leon, C. F., Glass, T. A., Williams, C. S., Cooney, L. M. Jr and Berkman, L. F. 2000. Consequences of driving cessation: decreased out-of-home activity levels. Journal of Gerontology Series B: Social Sciences, 55, 6, S334–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Metz, D. 2000. Mobility of older people and their quality of life. Transport Policy, 7, 2, 149–52.Google Scholar
Mokhtarian, P. L. and Salomon, I. 2001. How derived is the demand for travel? Some conceptual and measurement considerations. Transportation Research A: Policy and Practice, 35, 8, 695–719.Google Scholar
Mollenkopf, H., Marcellini, F., Ruoppila, I., Széman, Z., Tacken, M. and Wahl, H.-W. 2004. Social and behavioural science perspectives on out-of-home mobility in later life: findings from the European project MOBILATE. European Journal of Ageing, 1, 1, 45–53.Google Scholar
Mollenkopf, H., Marcellini, F., Ruoppila, I., Széman, Z. and Tacken, M. 2005. Enhancing Mobility in Later Life: Personal Coping, Environmental Resources and Technical Support. The Out-of-home Mobility of Older Adults in Urban and Rural Regions in Five European Countries. IOS Press, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Mor, V., Murphy, J., Masterson-Allen, S., Willey, C., Razmpour, A., Jackson, M. E., Greer, D. and Katz, S. 1989. Risk of functional decline among well elders. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 42, 9, 895–904.Google Scholar
Paez, A., Scott, D., Potoglou, D., Kanaroglou, P. and Newbold, B. 2007. Elderly mobility: demographic and spatial analysis of trip making in the Hamilton CMA, Canada. Urban Studies, 44, 1, 123–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ragland, D. R., Satariano, W. and MacLoad, K. E. 2005. Driving cessation and increased depressive symptoms. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 60A, 3, 399–403.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M. and Deci, E. L. 2001. On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudemonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 1, 141–66.Google Scholar
Ryff, C. D. 1989 a. Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations of the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 6, 1069–81.Google Scholar
Ryff, C. D. 1989 b. In the eye of the beholder: views of psychological well-being among middle-aged and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 4, 2, 195–210.Google Scholar
Ryff, C. D. 1995. Psychological well-being in adult life. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 4, 99–104.Google Scholar
Schaie, K. W. and Pietrucha, M. 2000. Mobility and Transportation in the Elderly. Springer Publishing Company, New York.Google Scholar
Scheiner, J. 2006. Does the car make elderly people happy and mobile? Settlement structures, car availability and leisure mobility of the elderly. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 6, 2, 151–72.Google Scholar
Scott, D. M., Newbold, K. B., Spinney, J. E. L., Mercado, R., Paez, A. and Kanaroglou, P. S. 2009. New insights into senior travel behavior: the Canadian experience. Growth and Change, 40, 1, 140–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Secker, J., Hill, R., Villeneau, L. and Parkman, S. 2003. Promoting independence: but promoting what and how? Ageing & Society, 23, 3, 375–91.Google Scholar
Seicol, S. R. 2005. A pastoral understanding of positive aging. In Moody, H. R. (ed.), Religion, Spirituality and Aging: A Social Work Perspective. Haworth Social Work Practice Press, Binghamton, New York, 293–302.Google Scholar
Sheller, M. and Urry, J. 2006. The new mobilities paradigm. Environment and Planning A, 38, 2, 207–26.Google Scholar
Siren, A. and Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. 2005. Sense and sensibility: a narrative study of older women's car driving. Transportation Research F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 8, 3, 213–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siren, A. and Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. 2006. Does gendered driving create gendered mobility? Community-related mobility in Finnish women and men aged 65+. Transportation Research F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 9, 5, 374–82.Google Scholar
Siren, A. and Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. 2009. Mobility and wellbeing in old age. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 25, 1, 3–11.Google Scholar
Smith, J., Borchelt, M., Maier, H. and Jopp, D. 2002. Health and well-being in the young old and oldest old. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 4, 715–32.Google Scholar
Spinney, J. E. L., Scott, D. M. and Newbold, K. B. 2009. Transport mobility benefits and quality of life: a time-use perspective of elderly Canadians. Transport Policy, 16, 1, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Urry, J. 2006. Travelling times. European Journal of Communication, 21, 3, 357–72.Google Scholar
Urry, J. 2007. Mobilities. Polity, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Waldorf, B. 2003. Automobile reliance among the elderly: race and spatial context effects. Growth and Change, 34, 2, 175–201.Google Scholar
Wilhelmson, K., Andersson, C., Waern, M. and Allebeck, P. 2005. Elderly people's perspectives on quality of life. Ageing & Society, 25, 4, 585–600.Google Scholar
Windsor, T. D., Anstey, K. J., Butterworth, P., Luszcz, M. A. and Andrews, G. R. 2007. The role of perceived control in explaining depressive symptoms associated with driving cessation in a longitudinal study. The Gerontologist, 47, 2, 215–23.Google Scholar
World Health Organization 2002. Active Ageing; a Policy Framework. World Health Organization, Geneva. Available online at http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/WHO_NMH_NPH_02.8.pdf [Accessed 29 March 2010].Google Scholar