Quality of Life
The Feeling of Loneliness Among Older Europeans: Analysis of the Effects of Social and Material Deprivation
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Malorie Peyrache, Sabrina Aouici
Persons aged 75 and over are almost twice as likely to feel lonely compared to persons aged 50-74 (SHARE data, wave 6, 2015). In the public eye, phenomena such as the heat wave of 2003 in France have increased the visibility of the vulnerability of numerous elders to loneliness, isolation, and exclusion. Nevertheless, isolation or exclusion can be a consequence arising from feelings of loneliness, and leading to inequalities. In order to explore different forms of solitude in Europe, we examine the feeling of loneliness in relation to social and material deprivation, while taking into account country differences. Our work draws on persons aged 50 and over in Wave 6 of SHARE (Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe). It is based on an analysis of the indicators of social deprivation and material deprivation as expressed by the respondents together with their living conditions. We develop the concept of loneliness by paying particular attention to the borders, sometimes tenuous, which it shares with the concepts of isolation and exclusion. The feeling of loneliness is analysed using logistic regressions, in various European countries, according to the age, gender, living conditions (marital status, sociability, resources and financial difficulties) and the possible ruptures (in family, social, or professional domains). Finally, we examine country differences and how they relate to different forms of solitude and social and material deprivation.
Moving during Retirement: Relationship and Support Issues - the French Case
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sabrina Aouici
This study considers the main reasons for residential mobility during retirement in France, and the results can be generally applied to other Western countries. These reasons vary according to individuals' socio-economic characteristics and change with the ageing process. However, our research shows that several factors intersect when the move takes place. Whether residential mobility is a short or a long distance move, it questions the relationships and support with/from relatives. In ageing societies, retirees increasingly take part in intergenerational relationships but the strengthening of autonomy between generations leads to changes. Through their residential mobility, most retirees seek the right distance from their children to reset those solidarities. When their parents are still alive, they seem more inclined to provide support due to their advanced age, whilst at the same time they no longer wish to receive support in their own old age from their own children.
Ageing and Social, Civic, and Political Participation: Opportunities, Barriers, and Potential for Participation in Old Age
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Teresa Alves Martins, João Nunes, Isabel Dias, Isabel Menezes
There have been intense debates on the significance of social, civic, and political participation of elder citizens. Portugal is the country with the third highest ageing index in Europe, 153.2% in 2017, and therefore the topic is particularly relevant. Our focus is on the experiences of citizens over sixty years who are members of different organizations recognized as spaces for social, civic, and/or political participation. This paper is based on a total of sixteen interviews to identify the main motivations and obstacles to participation. Using thematic analysis our findings shows that citizens over sixty have many and varied experiences in these organizations. In some cases they are founding members, especially of senior universities and groups that promote senior citizens’ rights. In fact, the engagement in specific contexts for elderly people (e.g. senior universities or volunteer groups for the elderly) and the feeling of ‘being useful’ to the community are the main motivations mentioned by the interviewees. Many also mention that their involvement with those entities is due to an invitation or to an external challenge. As for barriers, they identify issues like economic restraints or lack of information, family duties (namely looking over their grandchildren), disbelief in the associative institutions or in the usefulness of their own participation efforts. We discuss how these findings relate to research on the motivations and barriers felt by other age groups, and reflect upon policies and practices that promote or restrict the opportunities for elderly citizens to participate and learn in today’s society.
