The purpose of this paper was to identify predictors of social isolation and loneliness for very old rural and urban adults. With data from the 1996 Aging in Manitoba Study (N = 1,868; age range 72–104), separate multiple regression models were constructed for rural and urban sub-samples, using the life space index (LSI) to measure social isolation as one outcome, and a loneliness index created by the authors from a combination of items to measure loneliness as a second outcome. Different factors were found to predict the outcomes for the two sub-samples. The models with isolation as the outcome produced five predictors for the rural sub-sample and three for the urban sub-sample. Only living alone was the same for both groups. The models with loneliness as the outcome produced five predictors for the rural sub-sample and two for the urban sub-sample, again with only one factor in common – four or more chronic illnesses. We conclude that health and social factors are important predictors of social isolation and loneliness, and sensitivity to these factors may improve the experience of older adults.

In recent years, a significant feature of population change in North American metropolitan areas has been the rapid suburbanization of elderly people. The ability to engage in routine activity may be a necessary condition for the maintenance of independent life styles and psychological well-being among older suburbanites. Using a conceptual framework based on Parmelee and Lawton's ecological model of aging, this article offers an exploratory investigation of the determinants of the travel of separate samples of elderly male and female suburbanites to each of five destination categories of key service/activity sites in a Canadian city. The results of the tests of ten multiple regression models disclose that the levels of explanation of trip frequency afforded by "autonomy components" (e.g. health-related characteristics, living arrangements, and income level) vary according to destination category. However, the explanatory power of "security components" (i.e. variables concerning access to destination categories) is generally low. Overall, the findings of the study provide a basis for developing a deeper understanding of the repetitive travel behavior of elderly suburbanites. Copyright 2001 Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky.

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The objective of this study was to determine the effects of neighborhood and individual change on the personal outcomes of recent movers to Canadian government-subsidized senior citizen apartment buildings (SCAs). The authors' sample included 137 recent movers to 25 SCA projects in Winnipeg, Manitoba, who participated in a longitudinal survey. The analysis involved testing four logistic and ordinary least squares regression models, with personal state outcomes of the moves (self-rated health, morale, depression, self-esteem) treated as dependent variables. Although the overall performance of the models was moderate, the entry of a block of independent change variables into the regression equations consistently registered statistically significant increases in their explanatory power. Significant predictors of the outcomes included changes in personal resources, everyday travel, and resident appraisals of service, social, and physical components of neighborhood content. The findings suggested that the older person's subjective interpretations of a new residential setting assumed more importance in producing outcomes than objective measures of that settings.T he development of appropriate housing alternatives for seniors requires a greater understanding of the adjustments of older people who move to more supportive residential facilities. In the present study, we investigated the role of neighborhood and individual factors in the residential adjustment of recent movers to a distinctive North American submarket of

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