Social Integration in Planned Retirement Communities.

Rosow's social integration theory of aging suggests that the elderly are integrated into society through social values, formal and informal group membership, and social roles. To examine the nature and extent of social integration, three age-segregated communitites, a Florida mobile home community, a Florida condominium community, and a community of detached units in Arizona, were examined. In-depth interviews with residents and staff, participant observation, and document collection, revealed that each community was tightly integrated, with members in constant contact. Residents identified strongly with their communities in a psychological sense, sharing similar values of health, sociability and leisure rather than success or material possessions. Although the three communities varied in location, size and resident composition, age formed the basis of integration. Living among age peers reinforced a common set of values and interests shared by those in the same stage of the life cycle. (JAC)