Based on the premise that the experience of aging in place is different for vulnerable subgroups of older adults compared with less vulnerable subgroups, we focus on low-income older adults as a vulnerable subgroup and senior housing as an alternative to a conventional, private home environment. Using the 2008 and 2010 waves of the Health Retirement Study, regression models determined the impact of person-environment (P-E) fit between poverty status and residence in senior housing on self-rated health. Consistent with the environmental docility hypothesis, findings show that, among low-income individuals, the supportive environment of senior housing plays a pronounced compensating role and may be a key to successful adaptation in aging. As the first research effort to empirically demonstrate the positive health effects of senior housing among socioeconomically vulnerable elders, our findings provide a much-needed theoretical and practical underpinning for policy-making efforts regarding vulnerable elders.
Keywords: aging in place; person–environment fit; vulnerable elders.