Institutional Constraints on Residents in Long-Term Care Facilities for the Elderly

For frail older persons, gaining access to care is primarily in the context of long-term care institutions. Based on hypotheses derived from the theory of the total institution (Goffman, 1961) and anticipatory socialization theory (Merton & Kitt, 1950), linkages of intra-institutional and extra-institutional social ties with quality of life outcomes were assessed based on 168 residents’ self-reports of their life and problems experienced in long-term care (Kahana, Kahana, & Young, 1987). Findings reveal that lack of anticipatory socialization was a significant predictor of subsequent wellbeing, whereas the extent of social ties to the outside world did not predict subsequent wellbeing.