Older Adults and Clutter: Age Differences in Clutter Impact, Psychological Home, and Subjective Well-Being

Behav Sci (Basel). 2022 May 3;12(5):132. doi: 10.3390/bs12050132.

Abstract

Previous research found mixed results for clutter's impact on individuals' sense of home and subjective well-being in a variety of samples. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, archival data were utilized to examine the relationship between clutter, psychological home, and subjective well-being across two age categories, specifically older adults aged ≥65 (n = 225), and younger adults aged ≤64 (n = 225). Three moderation analyses used age categories as a moderator exploring the relationship between (a) clutter predicting psychological home, (b) psychological home predicting subjective well-being, and (c) clutter predicting subjective well-being. Results found that age categories significantly moderated the relationship between clutter and psychological home but did not moderate the other variable relationships.

Keywords: aging; clutter; psychological home; subjective well-being.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.