Senior Migrants Research Articles

Book Review: Chinese Senior Migrants and the Globalization of Retirement.

Book Review: Chinese Senior Migrants and the Globalization of Retirement.

Migrant grandparents in Australia: English learning and well-being

Abstract Migrant families often invite grandparents to move to Australia when babies are born. In order to provide support to their families, many of these grandparents have to retire from their own professional careers and migrate to Australia to start new lives. Some speak English as an additional language, with or without formal education, prior to arriving in Australia. Once in Australia, these senior migrants can only access limited government-funded English learning, and they are frequently left to capitalize on informal learning. This paper discusses a case study of two Chinese-heritage senior migrants and the role English plays in their lives, and grandparenting in Australia. We argue that having the English capability for everyday activity within the family is key to their overall well-being, and that drawing directly on their past experiences and learning strengths can enhance their quality of life.

How Age and Life Stage of Relocation Fosters Social Belonging: Comparing Two Groups of Older Migrants in the United States.

The presumed "ossification effect" of the past on older generations remains influential in the scholarship on aging and migration, orienting scholars to highlight the vulnerability of senior migrants in new societies. As a result, the ability of older generations to adapt to receiving societies has been underestimated and largely undifferentiated, and little is known about how age and life stage at arrival matter for how older individuals manage later-life transitions across borders. This article compares 2 groups of Han Chinese senior migrants: recent arrivals (who migrated to the United States later in life) and long-term residents (who migrated to the United States during adulthood). We draw on 112 qualitative interviews and 4 years of ethnographic observation in 2 northeastern cities in the United States. We argue that the life stage at arrival, coupled with class (dis)advantages, are central to analyzing the diverse ways older migrants stake claims to their belonging to American society. We offer the concept of "economies of belonging" to delineate the ways recent arrivals and long-term migrants anchor themselves socially and emotionally in the United States. Through examining the social relationships and state-provided resources that recent arrivals and long-term migrants use to cultivate social belonging and justify their social membership in American society, our analysis reveals that both groups of older migrants have preconceived American dreams before they emigrate, but their age at arrival offers differential opportunities to fulfill those dreams and influences how a sense of belonging unfolds later in life.

The aging of international migrants and strategic transnational practice in later life: Exploring Portuguese seniors in Toronto, Canada

The Portuguese community in Toronto is the largest in North America; however, its immigrant population is now aging. This paper addresses senior immigrants who had a transnational “later life” and discusses this practice in the transatlantic context, using a lifecycle model of transnational migration. Later life is a life stage that is highly feasible for transnational migration, as seniors are mostly disentangled from various obligations, such as work, child rearing, and caregiving for parents. Transnational senior migrants in Europe and North America can be categorized into four groups: Intra‐Europe Rich, Intra‐Europe Immigrant, North American Snowbird, and Trans‐Atlantic Immigrant. Trans‐Atlantic Immigrant seniors, the target group of this paper, differ from the other groups on several points, including seasonal preference for transnational migration, motivations, and legal regulations. The paper considers the questions of why senior Portuguese immigrants choose to stay in Portugal for an extended period each year, while mainly living in Canada, and how their later life is structured between the two countries. Transnational later life is a strategic practice of senior Portuguese immigrants in Canada in the last stage of their lifecycle, allowing them to maximize government pension payments while simultaneously enjoying the highest quality of life possible in both countries.

The impacts of gender on seasonal retirement mobility and wellbeing

AbstractWith the increase in personal mobility and improvements in living standards, seasonal mobility for health reasons is a well-observed phenomenon among retired people worldwide. Existing studies have shown that there are relationships between seasonal retirement mobility and wellbeing, and this study attempts to explore the effects of gender on these relationships. The framework of therapeutic mobility, which includes daily activities, sociality and context, was used to analyse this relationship. Qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, non-participatory observation and mobile ethnography were used to collect data. This study finds that female seasonal senior migrants in Sanya have more abundant and meaningful daily activities and receive more emotional supports, and as a result, gain more benefits than males, and that these differences are related to their gender roles. Furthermore, while gender itself cannot explain all the differences, it works within the intersection of economic condition, age and family support. This study has enriched the literature on therapeutic mobility and has practical implications.

The Impact of Health Insurance Policy on the Health of the Senior Floating Population-Evidence from China.

The impact of health insurance on residents’ health is one of the focal points of academic research. Due to the fact that China’s medical insurance system is composed of a variety of programs and that the pooling districts are at the lower administrative level, enrollment in different medical insurance programs or at different places may have certain influences on the health of residents. This has mostly been neglected by previous studies. This paper uses data from the 2015 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS), focusing on the senior floating population and taking the difference in government subsidy proportions as an instrumental variable in order to identify the effects of health insurance programs and regional differences on the health of the senior floating population. Three effects were observed: First, participation in the health insurance system significantly improves floating seniors’ self-rated health. Second, the health status of floating seniors affects their choice of health insurance program: Less healthy persons tend to choose high-paying, wide-coverage basic medical insurance available for urban employees. Using an instrumental variable to control for the problem of endogeneity, it is discovered that compared with the basic medical insurance system for urban residents, the system for urban employees significantly enhances the health of the senior floating population. Third, “adverse selection” could be observed in the choice between enrolling in health insurance at the place of settlement or another place. Senior migrants with worse self-rated health tend to choose place of settlement in order to enjoy higher compensation and less complex reimbursement procedures. With an instrumental variable to control for the problem of endogeneity, it was found that compared with joining the medical insurance system at other places, joining at a place of settlement could improve the health of the floating senior population.

От молодежной миграции к миграции пожилых: парадоксы старения принимающего общества

Николай Викторович Соколов – к. с.н., доцент, Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, Санкт-Петербург, Россия. Электронная почта: nvsspb@yandex.ru
 Лилия Сергеевна Рехтина – социолог, Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, Санкт-Петербург, Россия. Электронная почта: lisabet-09@mail.ru
 Статья посвящена анализу структурно-возрастных изменений миграции, которые происходят на фоне увеличения миграционных потоков, с одной стороны, и процесса старения населения, с другой. Миграция, как массовый процесс, повторяет явление «перевернутой пирамиды», порождая феномен, названный нами «миграция пожилых». Старение миграции проявляется на фоне трансформации миграции молодежной – это взаимосвязанные и взаимодополняющие друг друга процессы. Методологически анализ лежит на стыке теорий, рассматривающих феномен массовой миграции и социологических концепций, описывающих процесс старения населения – в первую очередь исследующих «третий возраст» как относительно новую группу населения, требующую к себе особого отношения и подхода. Эмпирической базой исследования служат данные опроса, проведенного осенью 2016 г. в Санкт-Петербурге. В ходе опроса собраны данные о возрастной, гендерной, географической и профессиональной структуре приезжего населения города. Основная часть анализа выполнена для целевой категории мигрантов, переехавших жить в СанктПетербург в возрасте старше 40 лет в период 1995–2016 гг. Данные исследования свидетельствуют о «старении» и «взрослении» миграции. При этом характер «пожилой» миграции радикально отличается от сложившихся стереотипов о «молодежной» миграции – ведущую роль в ней играют социальные и родственные сети, на которые ориентированы пожилые приезжие. Наблюдаемые тенденции старения миграции позволяют прогнозировать усложнение процессов адаптации и интеграции, вплоть до полной неэффективности традиционных механизмов взаимодействия агентов принимающего сообщества с пожилыми мигрантами. Последних нельзя рассматривать в роли дешевого и легко доступного источника, пополняющего производительные силы принимающей стороны – они прибывают с целью обмена ресурсами. Старение миграции включает механизмы социальной трансформации, которая играет роль мощного креативного источника для принимающего социума, но в то же время является источником серьезных рисков в связи с радикальным снижением возможностей управления миграцией.

Negotiating Family “Value”: Caregiving and Conflict Among Chinese-Born Senior Migrants and Their Families in the U.S.

Drawing on ethnographic research conducted since 2009 with Cantonese-speaking Chinese senior migrants in Boston’s downtown Chinatown and its satellite community in Quincy, MA, this paper contributes to a growing scholarly literature on the problem of senior support within the changing dynamics of contemporary Chinese family life by highlighting how the paid and unpaid caregiving work performed by Chinese-born senior migrants in the U.S. provides a means for them to act strategically to secure their own support in older age. The paper describes how these senior migrants work to negotiate their value within the family through caregiving while dealing with the familial conflicts that also arise in the process.

Specyfika przemieszczeń wewnętrznych osób starszych w Polsce

The purpose of this study is to identify regularities in internal migration of elderly people in Poland. In the analysis we focus mainly on directions of migration (urban, rural), demographic structure of migrants, and spatial distribution (at voivodeship level) of senior migrants. The study is based on results of the 2002 and 2011 National Population and Housing Censuses and current reports of the Statistical Central Office.
 The results show that an increase in average life expectancy in good health leads to postponement of decisions to migrate to a later stage of life. It is reflected in a rise in the number of married persons amongst seniors changing a domicile. In case of persons in advanced age, who are usually single, less educated and of poor health, the migration is often a result of necessity rather than choice. The results of the 2011census indicate that current senior migrants are relatively younger than those who migrated a decade earlier. This suggests that the existing pattern of forced migration of seniors has changed to voluntary moves in Poland.

Crossing cultures: health promotion for senior migrants in the Netherlands

A health promotion programme focusing on the meaning of everyday activities was implemented and evaluated to test its usefulness for community-dwelling seniors in the Netherlands. To evaluate how senior migrants with a Surinamese-Hindustani background and professionals received the programme, and how it could be contextualized and improved in line with their values and expectations. A responsive evaluation methodology was followed to foster reflexive learning in and among stakeholders as the basis for programme contextualization. The evaluation consisted of three phases. Outcomes of former phases served as input for subsequent phases. Methods included interviews and focus groups with seniors and professionals. Open and selective coding techniques were used to analyse the interactively derived data. A. small group of women was interested and followed the programme. It was not individual concerns or daily life problems that dominated, but the wish to become well informed, to maintain functional capacities and to continue their roles in the family and community. Striking differences in perspectives between professionals and migrants related to conflict between the underlying Western values of the programme (independence, personal control and autonomy) and the values of the migrants (interdependence, predestination, rebirth and destiny). Awareness among professionals of their own cultural background and the values of the migrant seniors was enhanced, but adapting the programme to the local context and values appeared far more complicated than originally expected. Adaptation requires intensive collaboration with participants and cultural brokers in the community.

Des logements à part pour migrants âgés ?

Cet article porte sur les processus de mise à l’écart résidentielle des migrants âgés qui sont arrivés en France au cours des Trente Glorieuses et n’ont pas de famille en France. Il est tiré de deux études sociologiques. La principale, initiée dans le cadre d’un Programme régional d’insertion des populations immigrées, fut menée dans l’agglomération nantaise en 2006. Elle a consisté à réaliser une série d’entretiens auprès de professionnels en charge de personnes âgées (médecins, assistants de service social, professionnels de l’aide à domicile, etc.) et de migrants de plus de soixante ans. Cette étude a été complétée par le recueil d'entretiens réalisés la même année auprès de migrants âgés de la ville du Mans et du directeur de la Résidence sociale de cette ville.Ces migrants, lorsqu’ils n’ont pas été rejoints par leur famille, résident le plus souvent dans des foyers de travailleurs. Les logements ont été construits au début des années soixante-dix pour les travailleurs immigrés de passage. Ils étaient donc pensés comme des logements provisoires : ils ne répondent pas aux besoins de personnes installées durablement et moins encore à ceux des personnes âgées. Comment comprendre dans ce cas que des migrants très âgés y résident encore ? A Nantes, sur quatre foyers que compte la ville, deux ont fait l’objet de récentes rénovations pour passer au statut de Résidence sociale. Leur mission d’hébergement provisoire continue de guider les ingénieurs en charge de les penser. Pourtant certaines places sont systématiquement réservées aux migrants âgés. C'est également le cas au sein de la Résidence sociale du Mans. Pourquoi des migrants âgés demeurent-ils comme assignés à résidence dans ces foyers plutôt que d’être orientés vers des structures gérontologiques ou des logements de droit commun ?Notre article tentera de répondre à ces questions en adoptant une double approche. Nous éclairerons d’abord les résistances dont les migrants âgés résidents des foyers font preuve lorsque leur sont proposés de nouveaux logements. La trajectoire migratoire et la crainte du déracinement seront des éléments de compréhension majeurs. Nous interrogerons ensuite les résistances des structures destinées au logement des personnes âgées, vis-à-vis de la prise en charge de migrants du troisième ou du quatrième âge. Nous verrons alors que le grand âge des hommes concernés ne les préserve pas des préjugés culturalistes.

Introduction to Special Issue on ‘Ageing in Place’

Population ageing has become an increasingly prevalent social phenomenon in the world and especially in advanced economies. The challenges of an ageing population have called forth efforts from governments, the academia, social service providers and individual alike, in devising viable solutions to the problems related to health, retirement protection, human services, housing, life long learning, and a host of it. With increased longevity bestowed by advancement in health technology, there comes the challenge of increased morbidity. However, there has been an aversion across different cultures and societies against institutional living. Older people normally prefer to live in their familiar residence, their home in particular, where they have memories and special meanings attached to it. It thus makes our present concern, that of ‘Ageing in Place’ more forthcoming. This special issue addresses the challenges and opportunities posed by the embracement of ageing in place amongst our senior members. Ernest Chui presents the case of Hong Kong, a westernized Chinese society, in which traditional Chinese culture has been sapped posing challenges to familial care for the elderly people. There are problems posed by urban renewal where gentrification usually results in displacement of elderly residents, thus threatening ageing in place. However, policies and services could be devised to meet with such challenges that might provide reference for other similar cities. From Taiwan, another Chinese community, Chen Yen-jen presents the problems of declining co-residence between elderly people and their family members, threatening the viability of independent living of senior people. Government policies in promoting the care industry in the private sector may provide a possible avenue for meeting with such a challenge. Traditional Chinese culture of filial piety and community care spirits serve as normative support to achieving ageing in place. Hwang Eunju, a Korean scholar currently working in Canada, compares the patterns of service utilization and housing-related decisions between Chinese and Korean senior migrants in Canada. Her findings reveal that the Ageing Int (2008) 32:165–166 DOI 10.1007/s12126-008-9016-1

Ältere Migrantinnen und Migranten in Bremen: Demografische Struktur, soziale Lage und gesundheitliche Situation

In the coming years, the number of migrants of 60 and older will rise considerably in Germany. There are indications that their health problems are more severe than those of the native population, and that much can be done to supplement health care offers for them. The authors suggest to put this statement on a more objective basis and bridge the gaps of empirical research, focussing both on health relevant aspects of the general situation of senior migrants (differences in the cultural background, migration biography, accommodation, integration/segregation etc.) and on the health status itself. At the same time preconditions and possibilities of an intercultural opening of care structures and culture-sensitive nursing should be utilised and further developed.