Abstract
Feelings of severe loneliness negatively affect the quality of life of older adults. Although research has repeatedly shown that immigrants are more confronted with loneliness due to various migration-related characteristics, little is known about the specific relation between loneliness and generational status. Therefore, based on the sixth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, this study investigates the relation between loneliness and migration among older adults of 50 years or older in Belgium. In this respect, this study goes beyond an immigrant versus non-immigrant dichotomy by differentiating between first and second generation immigrants and by taking into account the specific region of origin. The results show that not only first but also second generation immigrants have higher loneliness levels than natives, which implies that various migration-related factors that correlate with loneliness are passed on from the first to the second generation. This difference in loneliness levels is mainly explained by a worse health situation of people with a migration background, more than by specific demographic or social network characteristics. As a result, the enhancement of the health situation would not only result in lower loneliness levels of people with and without a migration background, but it would also reduce the loneliness inequality between those two groups.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aroonsrimorakot, S., Laiphrakpam, M., Metadilogkul, O., & Konjengbam, S. (2019). Ageing, Social Isolation, Loneliness, Health, Social Care and Longevity: Insights from Case Studies in Thailand and India. Ageing International, 44(4), 371–384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-019-09353-x
Arsenijevic, J., & Groot, W. (2018). Does household help prevent loneliness among the elderly? An evaluation of a policy reform in the Netherlands. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6004-6
Becker, G., & Newsom, E. (2005). Resilience in the face of serious illness among chronically ill African Americans in later life. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60(4), S214–S223. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/60.4.S214
Bofill, S. (2004). Aging and loneliness in Catalonia: The social dimension of food behavior. Ageing International, 29(4), 385–398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-004-1006-3
Boneham, M. A., Williams, K., Copeland, J., McKibbin, P., Wilson, K., Scott, A., & Saunders, P. (1997). Elderly people from ethnic minorities in Liverpool: Mental illness, unmet need and barriers to service use. Health & Social Care in the Community, 5(3), 173–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2524.1997.tb00112.x
Börsch-Supan, A., Brandt, M., Hunkler, C., Kneip, T., Korbmacher, J., Malter, F., Schaan, B., Stuck, S., & Zuber, S. (2013). Data resource profile: The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). International Journal of Epidemiology, 42(4), 992–1001. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyt088
Buffel, T., Phillipson, C., & Scharf, T. (2012). Ageing in urban environments: Developing ‘age-friendly’ cities. Critical Social Policy, 32(4), 597–617. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018311430457.
Carstensen, L. L., Fung, H. H., & Charles, S. T. (2003). Socioemotional Selectivity Theory and the Regulation of Emotion in the Second Half of Life. Motivation and Emotion, 27(2), 103–123. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024569803230
Consedine, N. S., Magai, C., & Conway, F. (2004). Predicting ethnic variation in adaptation to later life: Styles of socioemotional functioning and constrained heterotypy. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 19(2), 97–131. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JCCG.0000027847.16659.b0
De Jong Gierveld, J., & Van Tilburg, T. (2008). De ingekorte schaal voor algemene, emotionele en sociale eenzaamheid. Tijdschrift Voor Gerontologie En Geriatrie, 39(1), 4–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03078118
De Jong Gierveld, J., Van Tilburg, T., & Dykstra, P. A. (2006). Loneliness and Social Isolation Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships 485–500. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511606632.027
De Witte, J., & Van Regenmortel, T. (2019a). Silver empowerment. Loneliness and social isolation among elderly. An empowerment perspective. HIVA: Leuven.
De Witte, J., & Van Regenmortel, T. (2019b). Silver empowerment. Resilience of vulnerable elderly. A narrative research approach. HIVA: Leuven.
De Witte, J., & Van Regenmortel, T. (2020). Silver empowerment. A quantitative picture of loneliness among elderly in Belgium and Europe. Leuven.
Dolberg, P., Shiovitz-Ezra, S., & Ayalon, L. (2016). Migration and changes in loneliness over a 4-year period: The case of older former Soviet Union immigrants in Israel. European Journal of Ageing, 13(4), 287–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-016-0391-2
Dong, X., Chang, E.-S., Wong, E., & Simon, M. (2012). Perception and negative effect of loneliness in a Chicago Chinese population of older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 54(1), 151–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2011.04.022
Dykstra, P. (2009). Older adult loneliness: myths and realities. European Journal of Ageing, 6(2), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-009-0110-3
Dykstra, P. A., Van Tilburg, T. G., & Gierveld, J. (2005). Changes in Older Adult Loneliness. Research on Aging, 27(6), 725–747. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027505279712
Fokkema, T., De Jong Gierveld, J., & Dykstra, P. A. (2012). Cross-national differences in older adult loneliness. The Journal of Psychology, 146(1–2), 201–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2011.631612
Fokkema, T., & Naderi, R. (2013). Differences in late-life loneliness: A comparison between Turkish and native-born older adults in Germany. European Journal of Ageing, 10(4), 289–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-013-0267-7
Fokkema, T., & Van Tilburg, T. (2007). Zin en onzin van eenzaamheidsinterventies bij ouderen. Tijdschrift Voor Gerontologie En Geriatrie, 38(4), 161–177. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03074846
Heylen, L. (2010). The older, the lonelier? Risk factors for social loneliness in old age. Ageing and Society, 30(7), 1177–1196. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x10000292
Hinton, L. (2002). Improving care for ethnic minority elderly and their family caregivers across the spectrum of dementia severity. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 16, S50–S55.
Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). A Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness in Large Surveys: Results From Two Population-Based Studies. Research on Aging, 26(6), 655–672. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027504268574
Integratiebeleid, C. (2014). Uniforme operationalisering van de doelgroep bij de monitoring van het horizontaal integratiebeleid. Nota Commissie Integratiebeleid, 28(11), 2014.
Janssen, B. M. (2013). Resilience and old age. Community care from an insider and empowerment perspective. Amsterdam.
Keung Wong, D. F., Li, C. Y., & Song, H. X. (2007). Rural migrant workers in urban China: Living a marginalised life. International Journal of Social Welfare, 16(1), 32–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2397.2007.00475.x
Kwong, K., Du, Y., & Xu, Q. (2015). Healthy aging of minority and immigrant populations: Resilience in late life. Traumatology, 21(3), 136. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000034
Lafleur, J. M., Marfouk, A., & Fadil, N. (2018). Migratie in België in 21 vragen en antwoorden. Leuven University Press.
Luanaigh, C. O., & Lawlor, B. A. (2008). Loneliness and the health of older people. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(12), 1213–1221. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.2054
Machielse. (2016). Afgezonderd of ingesloten? Over sociale kwetsbaarheid van ouderen. Universiteit voor humanistiek.
Machielse, A. (2015). The heterogeneity of socially isolated older adults: A social isolation typology. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 58(4), 338–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2015.1007258
Niedzwiedz, C. L., Richardson, E. A., Tunstall, H., Shortt, N. K., Mitchell, R. J., & Pearce, J. R. (2016). The relationship between wealth and loneliness among older people across Europe: Is social participation protective? Preventive Medicine, 91, 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.07.016
Perlman, D., & Peplau, L. A. (1981). Toward a social psychology of loneliness. Personal Relationships, 3, 31–56.
Pikhartova, J., Bowling, A., & Victor, C. (2014). Does owning a pet protect older people against loneliness? BMC Geriatrics, 14(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-14-106
Prince, M. J., Reischies, F., Beekman, A. T., Fuhrer, R., Jonker, C., Kivela, S. L., & Van Oyen, H. (1999). Development of the eurod scale. A european union initiative to compare symptoms of depression in 14_european centres. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 174(4), 330–338. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.174.4.330
Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(3), 472–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.472
Siriwardhana, C., Ali, S. S., Roberts, B., & Stewart, R. (2014). A systematic review of resilience and mental health outcomes of conflict-driven adult forced migrants. Conflict and Health, 8(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1505-8-13
Sixsmith, A., & Sixsmith, J. (2008). Ageing in Place in the United Kingdom. Ageing International, 32(3), 219–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-008-9019-y
Sundström, G., Fransson, E., Malmberg, B., & Davey, A. (2009). Loneliness among older Europeans. European Journal of Ageing, 6(4), 267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-009-0134-8
Takagi, E., & Saito, Y. (2015). Older Parents’ Loneliness and Family Relationships in Japan. Ageing International, 40(4), 353–375. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-015-9219-1
Ten Bruggencate, T., Luijkx, K. G., & Sturm, J. (2018). Social needs of older people: A systematic literature review. Ageing and Society, 38(9), 1745–1770. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X17000150
Tummala-Narra, P. (2007). Conceptualizing trauma and resilience across diverse contexts: A multicultural perspective. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 14(1–2), 33–53. https://doi.org/10.1300/J146v14n01_03
UNESCO United Nations Educational, S. a. C. O. (2003). International Standard Classification of Education. In S. US (Ed.), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 195–220.
Ungar, M. (2008). Resilience across cultures. The British Journal of Social Work, 38(2), 218–235. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcl343
United Nations Statistics Division. (2020). Geographic Regions. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/
van Campen, C., Vonk, F., & Van Tilburg, T. (2018). Kwetsbaar en eenzaam? Risico's en bescherming in de ouder wordende bevolking. Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
Van Tilburg, T. G., & Fokkema, T. (2020). Stronger feelings of loneliness among Moroccan and Turkish older adults in the Netherlands: In search for an explanation. European Journal of Ageing, 1–12https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-020-00562-x
Vancluysen, K., & Van Craen, M. (2011). Feelings of loneliness: differences between ethnic minority and majority group members in Belgium and their relation to minorities’ integration and ethnic attachment. Equal is not enough, 436.
Vandenbroucke, S., Lebrun, J.-M., Vermeulen, B., Declercq, A., Maggi, P., Delye, S., & Gosset, C. (2012). Oud word je niet alleen. Een enquête over eenzaamheid en sociaal isolement bij ouderen in België: Fondation Roi Baudouin.
Victor, C., Burholt, V., & Martin, W. (2012). Loneliness and ethnic minority elders in Great Britain: An exploratory study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 27(1), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-012-9161-6
Victor, C., Scambler, S. J., Shah, S., Cook, D. G., Harris, T., Rink, E., & De Wilde, S. (2002). Has loneliness amongst older people increased? An investigation into variations between cohorts. Ageing and Society, 22(5), 585–597. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X02008784
Visser, M. A., & El Fakiri, F. (2016). The prevalence and impact of risk factors for ethnic differences in loneliness. The European Journal of Public Health, 26(6), 977–983. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckw115
Vozikaki, M., Papadaki, A., Linardakis, M., & Philalithis, A. (2018). Loneliness among older European adults: Results from the survey of health, aging and retirement in Europe. Journal of Public Health, 26(6), 613–624. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0916-6
Weiss, R. S. (1973). Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. MIT Press.
Wu, Z., & Penning, M. (2015). Immigration and loneliness in later life. Ageing and Society, 35(1), 64–95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X13000470
Yang, F., & Gu, D. (2020). Predictors of loneliness incidence in Chinese older adults from a life course perspective: A national longitudinal study. Aging & Mental Health, 24(6), 879–888. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2018.1558174
Yee-Melichar, D. (2011). Resilience in aging: Cultural and ethnic perspectives. In Resilience in Aging (pp. 133–146). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0232-0_9
Funding
This research is part of the KU Leuven Chair Empowerment of Underprivileged Elderly commissioned by the private foundation be.Source.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
This research project took place within the University Chair Empowerment of Vulnerable Elderly, which was supported by the private foundation be.Source. We wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and there has been no financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.
Informed Consent
None
Ethical Treatment of Experimental Subjects (Animal and Human)
None
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
De Witte, J., Van Regenmortel, T. The Relationship Between Loneliness and Migration Among Belgian Older Adults. Ageing Int 47, 672–694 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-021-09460-8
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-021-09460-8