Older adults’ mental maps of their spatial environment: Exploring differences in attachment to the environment between participants in adult day care centers in rural and urban environments

Familiarity with the environment, attachment to the environment and social ties are highly correlated with the ability to construct mental representations of the environment (mental maps). These are thought to influence older adults’ lives in a variety of ways including: quality of life, health, well-being, social integration, accessibility, use of services, and the ability to age in place. The objectives of the current research were to examine what mental maps (defined as the integration of the objective features of the environment with our subjective representations) older adults attending adult day care centers (ADCC) draw and how attachment to their specific urban or rural environment is reflected in the maps. The method included researchers interviewed older adults attending urban and rural ADCCs. The interview included a demographic questionnaire and the drawing of a mental map of the ADCC, after being asked to “Please draw the surroundings of the ADCC and mark all the important places.” Level of attachment was analyzed by measuring the number of map items reflecting the variables of familiarity and social participation and ties. Our results show that older adults from the rural ADCC drew more social items and more detailed maps compared to urban older adults. This suggests that their attachment to the living environment is stronger. The research conclusion is that Mental maps can be an effective tool for measuring the level of attachment to different environments. Moreover, mental maps can give professionals essential information related to specific items in the environment that are important and meaningful to older adults. These aspects of attachment may not be determined from standard questionnaires.