| The aging of the population has created a demand for alternative residential options for older adults. Independent living retirement communities strive to meet the needs of relatively healthy older adults by striking a balance between fostering autonomy and providing necessary services and support. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which personal control, social support, physical health, mental health, and sociodemographic variables predict three future-oriented variables---optimism, hope, and death anxiety---among older adults in independent living retirement communities. Results found that, although all of the independent variables were positively associated with optimism, only personal control, social support, mental health, being married, and having a graduate degree predicted optimism while physical health did not. Similarly, although all of the independent variables were positively associated with health, only physical health, mental health, not having a high school diploma, and financial status predicted hope while personal control and social support did not. Finally, only social support and mental health were negatively associated with death anxiety, and only social support, being single, and not having a high school diploma, and having a graduate degree predicted death anxiety while personal control, physical health, and mental health did not. Implications for the independent living retirement community model and professional practice are discussed as are directions for future research. |
