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Measurement of Late-Life Residential Relocation: Why Are Rates for Such a Manifest Event So Varied?

¹ Office of Aging & Long-Term Care, School of Social Welfare, and ² Gerontology Center, Life Span Institute and Department of Sociology, University of Kansas, Lawrence.

Address correspondence to Julie F. Sergeant, University of Kansas, Twente Hall, Room 300, 1545 Lilac Lane, Lawrence, KS 66044-3184. E-mail: juliesgt{at}ku.edu

Objectives. This methods article examines how characteristics of residential relocation (e.g., housing type) and research design decisions (e.g., level of analysis, geographic scale) influence reported rates for residential relocation among older adults.

Methods. Examination of key studies on late-life residential relocation (1992–2005) revealed a wide range of residential mobility rates and factors that contributed to this variation. These rates were rescaled to a common 5-year time period to allow for a degree of comparison across methodological approaches.

Results. We identified a wide range of rates for residential relocation in the literature (from 5% to more than 30% for a 5-year time period). Research design decisions accounted for much of the variation in these rates across studies; geographic scale was associated with the greatest amount of variation.

Discussion. We translate the findings into concrete suggestions for investigators. The article provides the background needed to identify the research design best suited to the end purpose of studies on residential relocation (e.g., inform economic policy, understand the individual's aging experience, plan for long-term-care systems). These methodological issues are also relevant to other areas of investigation in which relocation influences the variables being studied (e.g., caregiving, urban planning, neighborhood development).

Key Words: Residential relocation • Measurement • Mobility