Being lonely later in life

A qualitative study among Albanians and Moroccans in Italy

Bibliographic Data

ID11199032
AuthorsEralba Cela (0000-0002-5268-012X, Marche Polytechnic University, corresponding author), Tineke Fokkema (0000-0002-0763-663X, University of Groningen)
Year2017
Volume37
Issue6
Pages1197-1226
Publication date2017-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x16000209
OpenAlexW2293647262
LanguageEN
Citations received39
References cited63

This study focuses on the social wellbeing of older migrants in Italy, an important yet neglected topic in the Italian political and scholarly debate. Knowledge about the lived experience of loneliness and its perceived causes was gathered by means of 34 in-depth interviews with Albanian and Moroccan migrants aged 50 and above living in the Marche region. Our findings show that the participants are surrounded by family and are largely satisfied with the contact they have with relatives; this protects them from social isolation but not from loneliness. Although they rarely express this to their spouse and friends (men) or their children (men and women), feelings of loneliness are widely experienced among the participants. The root of their loneliness largely relates to a lack of meaningful relationships with non-related age peers – having a chat, remembering old times, socialising with others when family members are busy, talking about intimate matters they cannot or will not share with relatives – which supports the argument of loneliness scholars that different types of relationships serve different functions and fulfil different needs. Having more contact with people outside the family circle, especially with co-ethnic peers, could reduce these feelings of loneliness substantially, but factors such as discrimination and lack of Italian language proficiency, free time, financial resources and nearby contact facilities are hindrances. These factors offer clues for public loneliness interventions

Argument (complex analysis) · Developmental psychology · Ethnic group · Feeling · Loneliness · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Social isolation · Sociology · Spouse · Aging and Gerontology Research · Gender Studies · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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