Transnational aging among older Turkish and Moroccan migrants in the Netherlands: Determinants of transnational behavior and transnational belonging

Conducting Empirical Research with Older Migrants: Methodological and Ethical Issues

This special section brings together a set of four articles containing novel quantitative and qualitative research on older migrants in Europe. Detailed reporting and reflection is presented on fieldwork decisions and how certain challenges were tackled, and their implications. This introductory article aims to lay the groundwork for a better understanding and awareness of methodological and ethical challenges researchers face when designing and conducting empirical studies involving older migrants. Highlighted are the main methodological issues and ethical dilemmas we observe in studying older migrants, which can serve as a wake-up call for researchers to be more critical throughout the process. We end with a plea for more collaboration between researchers in the field of older migrants, by sharing their data despite potential methodological and ethical problems.

Where to Retire? Experiences of Older African Immigrants in the United States

Doubling in size since the 1970s, the aging needs of the African immigrant population are not fully understood. This qualitative study examined experiences of aging and retirement planning for African immigrant older adults in the United States (U.S.). Specifically, it explored the factors, processes, and ultimate decision of where these older adults planned to retire. Secondary analysis of semi-structured interviews with 15 older African immigrants in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan area was conducted. Data was analyzed using thematic analyses in NVivo. The majority of participants were women, with a mean age of 64. Three overarching themes with ten sub-themes were identified. The themes included: (1) cultural identity, which indicated the participant’s comfort with the U.S. society and culture; (2) decision making, meaning factors that impact participants’ choice of retirement location; and (3) decision made, meaning the final choice of where participants would like to retire. Age-friendliness for immigrant older adults in the U.S. is complex and it includes traditional domains such as physical and sociocultural environment (e.g., housing, transportation, and income). However, immigrant age-friendliness also needs to include wider contextual aspects such as political climate of their country of origin, immigrant status, family responsibilities, and acculturation in the U.S. More research is needed to better understand and facilitate age-friendly environments and transnational aging of immigrant older adults.

Life in Limbo: Old-Age Transnationalism

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Transnationalism, defined as migrants having ties to the country of origin and the destination country, is mostly explored with qualitative data. Quantitative studies only use a small number of indicators. This is one of only a few studies to examine transnationalism based on multiple indicators and elaborate classes of transnationalism. The research questions are: What are the forms of transnationalism in which older migrants engage? And how do age, gender, income, and country of origin affect these forms?

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

The paper used the Vivre/Leben/Vivere (2011/2012) subsample of migrants in Switzerland, aged 65-82 years. Transnationalism was measured using 11 indicators, including nationality, having family abroad, and sending remittances. Latent class analysis was used to distinguish between several forms of transnationalism. Latent class regression models subsequently explore the effect of age, gender, income and country of origin on these transnationalism forms.

RESULTS

Four different forms of transnationalism were found among older migrants: least transnational, distant transnational, active transnational, and returning transnational. The models suggest that country of origin and income are important predictors, while age is less important and gender has no effect on falling in these transnationalism classes.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The results confirm that our measure of transnationalism is an innovative approach toward exploring the different forms older migrants engage in. The method has several advantages over usual methods and can be used in future studies to analyze, for example, how different forms of transnationalism emerge as a consequence of policies relevant for older migrants, like care arrangements and pensions.

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam: cohort update 2019 and additional data collections

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) is a prospective cohort study of older adults in the Netherlands, initially based on a nationally representative sample of people aged 55-84 years. The study has been ongoing since 1992, and focuses on the determinants, trajectories and consequences of physical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning. Strengths of the LASA study include its multidisciplinary character, the availability of over 25 years of follow-up, and the cohort-sequential design that allows investigations of longitudinal changes, cohort differences and time trends in functioning. The findings from LASA have been reported in over 600 publications so far (see www.lasa-vu.nl). This article provides an update of the design of the LASA study and its methods, on the basis of recent developments. We describe additional data collections, such as additional nine-monthly measurements in-between the regular three-yearly waves that have been conducted among the oldest old during 2016-2019, and the inclusion of a cohort of older Turkish and Moroccan migrants.

On the move in search of health and care: Circular migration and family conflict amongst older Turkish immigrants in Germany

This study focuses on circular migration amongst older Turkish immigrants to investigate two main questions: (1) How do perceived health and available healthcare systems in Turkey and Germany determine the structure of circular migration? (2) How is eldercare shaped by intergenerational conflict and exchange relations amongst older immigrants, their adult children in Germany, and their extended families in Turkey? Through the analysis of 40 in-depth interviews, this study finds that while Turkey offers healthier physical, psychological, and religious options, older circular migrants are more drawn to Germany because they perceive its healthcare system to be superior. Furthermore, contrary to conventional accounts, eldercare has mostly been navigated through intergenerational conflict and exchange relations, instead of family solidarity or traditional filial roles, and these conflicts and exchange principles around eldercare regulate family living arrangements across the two countries. In short, older Turkish immigrants encounter unique challenges in both their home and host countries, which promulgates their circular migration.