Intentionally sharing the aging experience as an avenue for prevention and wellness

Can people have a better aging experience if they intentionally share it together? To explore this question, surveys that included 19 items representing aspects of this concept were conducted with two populations. Respondents in two different elder cohousing (COHO) communities were grouped together as one sample (n = 41), and compared to a sample of elders living in a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC) in a large urban area (n = 34). Both groups were predominantly female. The NORC sample was significantly older than the COHO sample (with mean ages of 78.15 and 71.80, respectively), and significantly more likely to be widowed and to have children. Across both samples, there was a high rate of agreement with the variables, which included "Aging can be stressful;" "Learning to age well together is a goal here;" and "My neighbors and I look out for each other." Beyond this overall agreement, significant differences emerged when comparing the two samples, e.g., COHO respondents were less likely to feel that they were dealing with their aging alone (p = 0.000). They reported stronger responses on many items, even though they had lived together for five or fewer years, compared to NORC respondents who were generally long-time residents in their neighborhoods. Results indicate that sharing the aging experience is occurring in both settings, but findings suggest that living in intentional communities, as represented by the COHO sample, can provide an advantage. Implications for prevention and wellness for older adults and for future research will be discussed.