The major purpose of this study was to determine the
factors which affect elderly individuals' innovativeness
toward housing and factors which affect the acceptance of
nontraditional housing type(s) by elderly individuals. The
study analyzed data from the Southern Regional Research
Project, 5-194, "Barriers and Incentives to Affordable
Housing." The sample consisted of 1,878 respondents over age
55 who resided in 28 communities in seven southern states.
A conceptual study framework was proposed to show the
variables and relationships among the variables involved in
this study and to test hypotheses. A theory of "diffusion of
innovations" developed by Rogers (1983) was used as the
theoretical background for this study. Two knowledge
continuum indices of Weber, McCray, and Claypool (1985), based
on the adoption process of Rogers (1983), were used to measure
acceptance of nontraditional housing types: mobile homes,
apartments or townhouses, solar houses, earth-sheltered
houses, or a combination of these four housing types.
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