Nature as nurture: Rural older women’s perspectives on the natural environment

ABSTRACT

Rural older women are surrounded by nature, a dynamic context for human development. Informed by place attachment and attention restoration theory, and guided by a life course perspective, this qualitative study focused on the perceived influence of nature in the lives of 34 rural older women. Using grounded theory techniques to analyze in-depth interviews, two primary findings emerged: (a) nature was integral to the women’s identity; and (b) interactions with nature were motivated by prior positive spiritual and psychological outcomes. Findings revealed the power of the natural environment as a resource for coping with the challenges associated with aging.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging women
• rural
• place attachment
• life course
• spirituality
• natural environment

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the women whose stories are told here. We thank them for letting us into their homes and for sharing their experiences with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Project No. VA-135688 of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station.