Featured Panel - Cross-National Perspectives on Exclusion from Social Relations in Later Life
Jagiellonian University and Online
‘Cross-National Perspectives on Exclusion from Social Relations in Later Life’
Rodrigo Serrat, Anna Urbaniak, Lucie Galčanová, Marcela Kafková, Celia Sheridan, Franziska Rothe, & Kieran Walsh - "How Do life Course Transitions Impact Older Women and Men’s Exclusion from Social Relationships? Perspectives From Five European Countries"
Montserrat Celdrán & Co-authors - "Unsolved Conflicts in Older People that Experience Loneliness"
George Pavlidis, Axel Ågren, & Co-authors – "Social Relations, Loneliness, and Self-identity amongst Older People in Sweden"
Lucie Vidovićová & Co-authors - "Lessons for Schools"
Marcela Petrová & Co-authors - "Gendered Conditioning of Exclusion from Social Relations"
All sessions are listed in Krakow, Poland time. Please use this time zone convertor to assist you.
Join Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34m_lYATsq4
Unsolved Conflicts in Older People that Experience Loneliness View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Montserrat Celdrán, Rodrigo Serrat, Karima Chacur-Kiss
Loneliness in old age is a complex phenomenon that takes into account elements of the person as well as their environment. However, little has been studied about the relationship between this loneliness and interpersonal conflict. The objective of this study is to describe how older people who feel loneliness identify important interpersonal conflicts. In-depth interviews were conducted of 30 people over 60 years of age who, at the time of the study, were receiving emotional support from associations that work to reduce loneliness in Barcelona (Spain). The block of questions corresponding to the most relevant interpersonal conflicts for the participants was analyzed through Atlas.ti. The analysis was carried out through the following themes: (1) conflict theme; (2) person’s involved; (3) life stage; (4) conflict’s resolution and (5) impact on health after this conflict. Older people reported conflicts that involved differences in decision-making or values, estrangement situation or because of mistreatment. Friends and family were mostly involved in such conflicts. Older people remembered conflicts mainly during aging and they felt those conflicts as unsolved. Finally, half of the sample expressed a negative impact on their health. Older people who find themselves in situations of chronic unwanted loneliness may find themselves in situations of interpersonal conflict that aggravate their social and support situation. The resolution of these conflicts or their mediation can be a complementary way of intervening in social relationships during old age that help prevent or mitigate loneliness.
How Do life Course Transitions Impact Older Women and Men’s Exclusion from Social Relationships? Perspectives From Five European Countries
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rodrigo Serrat, Franziska Rothe, Celia Sheridan, Marcela Petrova Kafkova, Anna Urbaniak
There is strong evidence showing that late life social ties and social support are constructed differently by older women and men. Research also highlights that life course transitions can lead to a range of potentially exclusionary impacts for the social relations of older women and men. However, little is known about how the intersection of gender and life-course transitions might contribute to exclusion from social relations of older men and women. We present findings from a cross-national European study on exclusion from social relations in later life (title removed for peer-review). We analyze data from 119 in-depth interviews carried out in five countries (countries removed for peer-review). The interviews focused on the lived experiences of relational changes across the life-course, the impact of these changes on exclusion from social relations, and the role of gender on such impact. Our analyses highlighted four transitions that emerged as common in the lives of the interviewees: onset of ill-health, bereavement, retirement, and relocation. These transitions constrained older women and men’s social networks, support networks, social opportunities and intimate relationships, impacting on their exclusion from social relations in later life. The study confirms the need for a gender-sensitive understanding of the contextual determinants of different transitions.
Social Relations, Loneliness, and Self-identity Amongst Older People in Sweden View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Georgios Pavlidis, Axel Ågren
Having an active life with meaningful social relations is often viewed as key for older persons’ well-being. Experiences of loneliness is seen as a negative issue that must be avoided or reduced. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the issue of loneliness among older persons was highlighted in the public discourse, as the restrictions imposed to avoid the spread of infection among the older has resulted to their social isolation. This study examined how older persons talk about social relations, loneliness, and everyday life, relating these issues to their own identity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with 30 persons (14 men, 16 women) living in Sweden were conducted. The participants use of linguistic resources (i.e., concepts and metaphors) was analysed, examining how older persons make sense of their own social relations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they construct their self-identity in relation to others. The preliminary findings indicate that older persons viewed loneliness as a minor problem during the COVID-19 pandemic, hardly mentioned as one even among those who live alone or those who have faced adversities in the past (e.g., loss of family member, illness). Having an active lifestyle and being busy was recurrently mentioned as the preferred strategy for mitigating loneliness. Loneliness was mainly considered as an issue of “others”, often comparing the “self” with “others” who are lonelier. It was concluded that during the COVID-19 pandemic, being “non-lonely” was an important part of older persons’ self-identity.
Gendered Conditioning of Exclusion from Social Relations
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Marcela Petrova Kafkova
Social networks are essentially conditioned by gender. On the one hand, women are perceived to have wider social networks, but on the other hand, they are at significant risk of loneliness in old age. The idea of loneliness appeared incompatible with “traditional” masculinity; the typical picture of loneliness in old age evokes the idea of a widow. We will explore the subjective dimensions of loneliness in relation to social exclusion, having in mind their non-linear and complex relationship in daily life. Embedded in the constructionist grounded theory approach, we analyse data from 29 qualitative interviews with older adults living in the Czech Republic, focusing on loneliness as a highly contextualised issue. We closely explore the relationship between biographical events, the intensity of social relations in later life within and beyond the nuclear family and the subjective feelings of loneliness and solitude. We argue that various dimensions of loneliness must be taken into account as people deal with its impacts both on a situational (feeling of loneliness of one person vary in different spatial, temporal and social contexts) as well as a long-term basis (when loneliness is linked, e.g. to social marginalisation), seeking for positive, supportive aspects of solitude as well as for negative experiences of loneliness. Gender differences in the sources and feelings of loneliness are thoroughly examined. However, our data show that partner and parenting life trajectories, or lack thereof, are more important than gender.
Early Prevention of Loneliness as Part of Gerontological Literacy of Schoolchildren
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lucie Vidovićová
In this paper, we present the applied part of the GENPATH project, which focused on the creation of model lessons for the so-called framework curricula for schools. Within these lessons, loneliness and exclusion from social relationships are presented as a possible part of an intergenerationally shared experience. Loneliness is a frequent feature of narratives about ageing and is sometimes seen as its most prominent definition feature. However, available research suggests that the highest proportions of subjective feelings of loneliness are in late adolescence or early adulthood, and only then in old age. The lessons focus on opening the topic of loneliness as well as a gateway to broader debates about old age and age discrimination, another strong link in the so-called generational alliances. In this paper, we present the process of creating and piloting these model lessons, against which we discuss the challenges and opportunities for setting gerontological literacy and promoting generational intelligence in schools as part of social change efforts. These forms of early intervention are enhanced by a life course approach and knowledge about the early foundations of not only attitudes towards old age but also ageing itself.
