Abstract
Friendship is said to promote psychological and physical well‐being and increase social inclusion. Yet, intergenerational friendship has garnered little research attention due to the assumed dominance of age homophily in friendship. In this article we explore intergenerational friendship from the perspective of “younger” and “older” friends at the “generational book‐ends” of the life course. We focus on the role that intergenerational friendship plays in processes of social inclusion in the everyday lives of the participants, bringing together a study conducted in Finland and one in Ireland. Both studies employ qualitative methodology, drawing from interviews with 31 young people who were refugees (aged 13–18) in Finland and 23 older people (aged 65+) in Ireland. Our findings reveal that the younger and the older participants concur on the qualities and benefits of intergenerational friendship. Additionally, while age is not a uniform definer of friendships, differences in chronological age are not meaningless but support caring, enjoyment, and inclusion in alternative ways compared to peer‐aged friendships. Access to diverse company, distinct support, broader networks, and alternative identities lead to increased experiences of social inclusion at a personal and societal level. We conclude by calling on policy makers and communities to create spaces and opportunities for inclusion through friendship for all generations.
Highlights
Friendship as a precursor and predictor of individual hap‐ piness and wellbeing is well documented by social sci‐ entists (e.g., Nehamas, 2016)
Friendship is commonly understood as the most mean‐ ingful social relationship to young people and recently highlighted as a vital source for enjoyment and social con‐ nectedness in later life
The friendships explored in this article illuminate the characteristics of the intergenerational friendships of the generations at either “book‐end” of the life span
Summary
Friendship as a precursor and predictor of individual hap‐ piness and wellbeing is well documented by social sci‐ entists (e.g., Nehamas, 2016). Aristotle argued that people form friendships with those who are similar to themselves, including sim‐ ilarity in age Elliott O’Dare et al (2019a, 2019b) argue that the assumed prevalence of homophily in friendship has resulted in a particular valuable and interesting type of friendship, namely intergenerational friendship, to be ignored by social scientists and others to the detriment of individuals, societies, and policymakers. This article seeks to add to the sparse yet grow‐ ing body of literature on intergenerational friendship in focusing on the role that intergenerational friendship plays in the processes of social inclusion in the every‐ day lives of the “old” and “young” at either end of the generational life course, conceptualised by Hagestad (2008b) as “generational book‐ends.”. We ask how older and younger people experience friendships with peo‐ ple from a different generation and if intergenerational friendship promotes social inclusion. We bring together the views of the two book‐ends, the old and young, which were initially part of separate studies, one in Finland and the other in Ireland
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