Residential relocation and adaptation to place: An exploration of place-identity.
Item
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Title
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Residential relocation and adaptation to place: An exploration of place-identity.
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Identifier
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AAI9130384
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identifier
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9130384
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Creator
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Walker, Peter R.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Leanne C. Rivlin
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Date
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1991
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, General | Psychology, Personality | Psychology, Social
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Abstract
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Residential relocation affords a recurring life experience for observing the impact of change-of-place on identity. Using two instruments, a self-administered questionnaire containing batteries of questions, on overall well-being and change-in-activity impacts, and an open-ended interview, 89 adults were interviewed one year after their move. This sample of participants included 42 men and 47 women, spousal partners, who were home buyers in four communities in Connecticut. The participants had relocated from outside the community in which they were interviewed.;Drawing upon the symbolic-interactionist approach to role-identity, the research investigated the participants' experiences of change/s in role-activity-patterns across a number of common daily routines (e.g. "time spent with spouse and children"). Each question regarding activity-change contained a measure of perceived increase/decrease in the activity, as well as a measure perceived positive/negative impacts on one's life. The multiple-methods research design was open to positive and negative move outcomes. Findings from this research, along with an extensive literature review, suggest that settings, as the locus of daily activity, are linked with identity and should receive recognition in future theories of self-identity. The research did not find support for a null hypothesis which suggests that a change of dwelling place has no effect on self or identity.;Both men and women were interviewed with the same protocols. The results included sanguine or cheerful, optimistic move outcomes, as well as somber or gloomy, melancholy move outcomes. Sanguine and somber outcomes were reported by both men and women in the sample. The reports of sanguine results are used to suggest possible solutions for those with somber outcomes. Men reported a wide range of outcomes, as did women, however, pointing to the need to report the experiences of men along with those of women in subsequent relocation research.;The analysis suggests that a loss of "locational-identity," encompassing whole networks of social contacts and activity-patterns in multiple physical settings, is experienced by some individuals. The findings also suggest reasons that this experience may not occur for all participants. Comments are made on participants' personal strategies for overcoming the situational isolation that sometimes occurs in a new community. The investigation also suggests new methods for research on place-identity.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
