LAUSR

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Neighbourhood environments are an important aspect of well-being for older people. Developments of the general ecological model recognise older people as active agents who adapt their environments to fit their changing needs. We provide empirical support for a model suggested by Wahl et al., by examining interactions between neighbourhood environments, personal situations, relocation, and quality of life among older people. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Two statistical models were tested with a sample of community dwelling participants (aged 55-89) in the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement longitudinal surveys conducted in 2016 (T1) and 2018 (T2). Multiple linear regression assessed the association of perceptions of housing and neighbourhood with quality of life (QoL) at T1 (n = 3682). RESULTS QoL was predicted by housing satisfaction, and neighbourhood satisfaction, accessibility, and trust (controlling for age, gender, marital status, home ownership, SES, physical health and mental health). Mixed ANOVA showed that those who moved house between T1-T2 reported lower housing and neighbourhood satisfaction than non-movers at T1. Over time T1-T2, movers reported less decline in housing satisfaction, and more positive change on all neighbourhood perceptions, with higher perceptions of neighbourhood accessibility than non-movers at T2. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS These findings support the theoretical model and provide impetus for more detailed study of the effects of the environment on well-being in older age. Housing and neighbourhood environments are a very practical focus for social policy change at local and national levels.