Abstract
ABSTRACTBackground: A cohort of older black South African women, forcibly relocated during apartheid, has grown old in these places. Even after 50 years, residents in a rural township expressed no connection to place and ruptured intergenerational relations. Their sense of community was based almost exclusively on their links with others who shared their history of relocation.Objective: This article seeks to understand loneliness of a group of older women who have been rendered vulnerable by longstanding exclusion from community, services and material resources. We use loneliness as a metric for exclusion from social relations.Methods: Sixteen Setswana-speaking women in Ikageng, a township in North West Province of South Africa (age 61–73), participated in the Mmogo-method® and open-ended interviews. Textual data were analyzed using thematic analysis, visual data analysis of elements and symbolic representations of loneliness.Results: Loneliness is a powerfully unpleasant experience of not being able to interact with other people in general, or more specifically as a result of the loss of particular people (including spouses, parents and children) and isolation provoked by the impact of relational interactions and group dynamics. Loneliness was mitigated by socializing and gathering for traditional activities, performing spiritual rituals, and keeping busy individually or with others, thus reinforcing a core theme that any social interaction alleviates loneliness.Conclusions: Even though loneliness is powerfully unpleasant, it is an expression of the importance of social interactions formed in a particular context. In the face of longstanding societal exclusion and disconnection from community, social connections are central to identity and to survival.
Highlights
A cohort of older black South African women, forcibly relocated during apartheid, has grown old in these places
Three types of experiences contribute to loneliness: (1) loss of intimate relationships to particular people; (2) not being able to interact with people; and (3) impact of painful interactions
The unbearableness of the bodily and emotional experience of loneliness sets in motion different strategies to deal with it. This group of black older South African women illustrates that the loss of a significant close relationship with a spouse contributes strongly to loneliness [43], as does the loss of any meaningful relationship in which they experienced care and protection, raising the possibility that loneliness may be attributed to any significant relational loss
Summary
A cohort of older black South African women, forcibly relocated during apartheid, has grown old in these places. Even after 50 years, residents in a rural township expressed no connection to place and ruptured intergenerational relations. Their sense of community was based almost exclusively on their links with others who shared their history of relocation. Objective: This article seeks to understand loneliness of a group of older women who have been rendered vulnerable by longstanding exclusion from community, services and material resources. North America has seen national campaigns initiated by governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to end loneliness [1,2]. There is evidence from those regions that measures to counter loneliness have buffering effects against poor health and mortality outcomes if they are effective [6,7,8,9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
