Abstract:

This article presents a selected review of literature concerning environmental influences on activity participation by the elderly person, the relationship between activity engagement and satisfaction in the environment, and the ways in which activity participation influences environmental experiences. The studies reviewed examine such factors as the amount and quality of activities offered, the types of roles available to elderly people in institutional settings, and how elderly people themselves experience and perceive their current living environments. The literature underscores the need for an awareness of how environmental variables can affect the individual's involvement in activity, as well as an understanding of how activity engagement may relate to the individual's evaluation of the environment and of oneself. The article concludes with some general implications for clinical intervention with institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly people.