Household Moves Project: Research about downsizing possessions in later life

This is a current project.

Description

The purpose of this study is to learn more about the work that older people go through to move out of one place and into another. There is a special interest in learning about how people make decisions about their possessions during such a move, particularly in how decisions are made about what items to keep, discard, give away, or sell. 

Why is it so hard to part with things?  Watch this TV commercial from the Ikea furniture company. 

Project Administration

This research is a collaboration among social scientists at the University of Kansas, Wayne State University, and the University of Missouri. 

David Ekerdt,
University of Kansas,
principal investigator

Mark Luborsky,
Wayne State University,
co-principal investigator

Cathy Lysack,
Wayne State University,
co-principal investigator

Jaber Gubrium,
University of Missouri,
consultant

Project Contact

David J. Ekerdt
Director, Gerontology Center
Professor of Sociology
University of Kansas
1000 Sunnyside Ave., Room 3090
Lawrence, KS  66045-7555
dekerdt@ku.edu
785-864-4130 (phone)
785-864-2666 (fax)

This is a project of:

KU Gerontology Center

In collaboration with :

Institute of Gerontology

Wayne State University

University of Missouri

This research is supported by the National Institute on Aging. 

Publications and Presentations

Ekerdt, D.J., Sergeant, J.F., Dingel, M., & Bowen, M.E. (2004).  Household disbandment in later life.  Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 59B, S265-273. 
Full Text

Ekerdt, D.J. & Sergeant, J.F.  (2006)  Family things: Attending the household disbandment of elders.  Journal of Aging Studies, 20, 193-205. 
PubMed

Sergeant, J.F., & Ekerdt, D.J.  (2008).  Motives for residential mobility in later life: Post-move perspectives of elders and family members.  International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 66, 131-154. 
http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?
artid=2386962

Ekerdt, D.J. (2007, November).  Dispossession.  Consumers, Commodities, and Consumption: Newsletter of the Consumer Studies Research Network, 9 (1).  http://csrn.camden.rutgers.edu/newsletters/9-1/ekerdt.htm

Participant Recruiting

We are recruiting volunteers to interview in Lawrence, Kan., and the greater Kansas City area.  Likewise, we are recruiting volunteers in the greater Detroit area. 

The project is interested in talking to persons aged 65 and over who:

- Moved in the last 4 to 8 months           
- Were involved in at least some details of the process.

If you are interested in participating in this study or would like further information, please contact us at the "Household Moves" Project Office:  785-864-0665.

Send corrections/comments/questions to lifespan@ku.edu.