People’s perception of how well they fit in their environment is a good predictor of satisfaction and duration of participation in that environment. Previous research has shown that person-environment fit (P-E fit) is best when:
- People perceive they are similar to and have congruent values with those in the environment
- Their needs are met within the environment
- They are able to meet the demands of the environment
- They feel they can make a contribution to whatever is happening in the environment.
P-E fit offers one way of investigating the interaction between people with disabilities and their rural communities.
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) involves recording situations and events in real-time, either in response to scheduled prompts or as defined events occur. Unlike retrospective methods, which require a participant to remember past events and associations and are susceptible to recall bias, EMA is designed to record events in the time and place where they occur. This makes EMA a good data collection strategy to examine immediate response to a setting, and offers an innovative method for exploring rural P-E fit.
This research examines how disability is associated with fit, and how fit may be shaped by environmental factors. It aims to understand the relationships between the biological, psychological, and social aspects of the individual, which will allow deeper understanding of how changes across time in one area may predict changes in other areas that ultimately impact community participation.
This study will generate new knowledge about the dynamic interaction between personal and environmental factors over time. This knowledge will be immediately useful for rural Centers for Independent Living (CILs) that are constantly intervening at the person and environment level to maximize community participation. This type of information could substantially contribute to accessibility advocacy efforts. Similarly, these results may contribute to intervention and policy development that can maximize participation opportunities for rural people with disabilities.
- Project dates: 2013-2018
- Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Grant No. H133B130028
- Principal staff: Craig Ravesloot, Ph.D., Tracy Boehm, M.P.H., Tannis Hargrove, M.S., Lillie Greiman, M.A.
- Related projects: