Unmarried older people: Are they socially better off today?

Objectives. Previous studies have shown that unmarried older adults are generally at disadvantage in personal networks and social well-being compared to the married. It can be questioned whether their situation has improved in contemporary society, as amongst others the stigma of divorce and being never-married has declined. We hypothesize differential developments in networks and well-being according to marital status (married, widowed, divorced and never-married) across birth cohorts. Method. Data are from the 1993 and 2013 observations of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam on Dutch people aged 55-69 (N = 2,894) and 70-84 years (N = 2,317). We employ general linear modelling of network size and diversity, received emotional and instrumental support, emotional and social loneliness, and depressive symptoms. Results. The widowed are better off socially in 2013 than in 1993. Similar to the divorced they have a larger network, and similar to the never-married they receive more emotional support and are less emotional lonely. We find some gender-differences in these developments. Discussion. Societal change has not radically altered networks and well-being of unmarried older people. The widowed seem to benefit most, possibly because they are better able to retain relationships after widowhood

The mix matters:Complex personal networks relate to higher cognitive functioning in old age

Stronger engagement of older adults in social activities and greater embeddedness in networks is often argued to buffer cognitive decline and lower risks of dementia. One of the explanations is that interaction with other people trains the brain, thereby enhancing cognitive functioning. However, research on the relationship between personal networks and cognitive functioning is not yet conclusive. While previous studies have focused on the size of personal networks as a proxy of cognitive stimulation, little attention has been paid to the complexity of the personal network. Adults embedded in a broad range of network relationships (i.e., various relationship types) are likely to be exposed to a wider range of stimuli than adults embedded in a homogeneous network including similar relationship types. We expect that higher numbers of personal relationship types rather than a higher number of similar contacts relate to higher levels of cognitive functioning and slower cognitive decline. Data are from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) and include 2959 Dutch participants aged 54 to 85 at baseline in 1992 and six follow-ups covering a time span of twenty years. Cognitive functioning is assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and for network complexity we use the Social Network Index. We test our expectations using fixed-effects regression models. The results reveal that a reduction in network complexity is associated with a reduction in cognitive functioning, which is neither explained by size of the network nor by presence of specific relationship types. However, enhanced complexity has only a marginal buffering effect on decline in cognitive functioning. We conclude that network characteristics and cognitive functioning are intertwined and that their association is mostly cross-sectional in nature. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Participation narratives of Third Age adults:Their activities, motivations and expectations regarding civil society organisations

Third Age adults leaving the labour market are not only armed with broad experience and multiple competencies but also find themselves free of professional obligations while still physically sound. The general theory of Third Age of Laslett sheds a new light on characteristics of ageing adults and their role in society. They are able to engage in society in ways inaccessible to previous generations of older adults. According to Laslett, combining a myriad personal strengths and being free of professional obligations they are challenged to make Third Age a time of personal development by making choices of engagement and civic contribution. To enlighten these issues, this qualitative study focuses on how and under what conditions 23 Third Agers invest their strengths in unpaid societal and social participation. Their narratives reveal three types of involvement: holistic, inhibited and social consumerist. The holistic pattern and, to a lesser extent, the inhibition pattern meet the expectations of Laslett about the Third Age. The social consumerist pattern, on the other hand, rather refers to disengagement. These observations imply that to facilitate the societal engagement and social participation of this population, civil society organisations need to rethink their goals, activities and procedures

Stronger feelings of loneliness among Moroccan and Turkish older adults in the Netherlands:A search for an explanation

Eenzaamheid komt vaker voor onder ouderen van Marokkaanse en Turkse herkomst dan van Nederlandse herkomst. Twee verklaringen voor dit verschil zijn onderzocht. (1) Het concept en de meting verschillen tussen de herkomstgroepen. (2) Migranten verkeren in een kwetsbare situatie. Er is gebruik gemaakt van gegevens van de Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Interviews zijn gehouden met 176 mensen geboren in Marokko en 235 geboren in Turkije, in de leeftijd van 55–66 jaar, en wonend in stedelijke wijken. Gemiddeld migreerden zij 35 jaar geleden. Zij zijn vergeleken met een steekproef van 292 ouderen die, evenals hun ouders, geboren zijn in Nederland. De analyses laten zien dat de psychometrische eigenschappen van de eenzaamheidsschaal bevredigend zijn. Voor enkele items is er systematische vertekening. Migrantenouderen hebben meer sociale contacten, maar participeren minder, zijn minder tevreden over hun inkomen, ervaren minder regie en hebben een slechtere gezondheid waaronder een groter aantal depressieve symptomen. Als rekening wordt gehouden met deze verschillen halveert het verschil in eenzaamheid met Nederlandse ouderen. De ervaringen vanuit migratie en als minderheid in Nederland versterken waarschijnlijk hun gevoelens van eenzaamheid. Interventies moeten zich niet richten op het verbeteren van sociaal contact, maar bijvoorbeeld op het versterken van het ervaren van een sociaal gewaardeerde rol en het vermijden van negatieve interpretaties. The prevalence of loneliness among Turkish- and Moroccan-Dutch older adults is higher than among Dutch older adults of non-migrant origin. Two explanations may account for this difference. (1) The meaning of the concept may differ, or there is differential item functioning. This might result in scores that not only differ in intensity but also in meaning across groups. (2) The position of older migrants is much more vulnerable than of non-migrant older people. Data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were used to examine support for both explanations. Feelings of loneliness are explored among 176 people born in Morocco and 235 people born in Turkey, aged 55–66 years, and living in urban areas. They migrated on average 35 years ago to the Netherlands. They are compared with a matched sample of 292 older people of Dutch origin. The psychometric properties of the loneliness scale are satisfying, although there is some differential item functioning. Older migrants have more frequent social contacts, but are at a disadvantage in other domains. Taking into account differences in social participation, satisfaction with their income, mastery and depressive symptoms, the difference between older migrants’ and non-migrants’ loneliness is reduced to more than half. Being an older migrant and belonging to a minority might further contribute to feelings of loneliness. Interventions should not be directed at stimulating social contact, but rather, for example, at enhancing the appreciation of their social status and at avoiding negative interpretations of the situation

Towards a more focused approach to loneliness:Seven active elements in loneliness interventions

In de loop der jaren is een breed aanbod aan eenzaamheidsinterventies voor ouderen ontwikkeld. Het merendeel van de interventies blijkt weinig effectief in het verminderen van eenzaamheid. Om meer inzicht te krijgen in waarom veel interventies niet het gewenste doel bereiken, gaan we in op de werkzame elementen die in interventies worden ingezet om eenzaamheid te reduceren, of waarmee subdoelen bereikt kunnen worden: een sociaal netwerk hebben, erbij horen, intimiteit ervaren, betekenis hebben. Om tot een indeling in werkzame elementen te komen is een kwalitatieve analyse uitgevoerd van 119 eenzaamheidsinterventies, beschreven in 22 reviews van interventies. Het resultaat is een indeling in zeven werkzame elementen: ‘bezigheden’, ‘ontmoeten’, praktisch ondersteunen’, ‘betekenisvol contact’, ‘sociale vaardigheden’, ‘realistische verwachtingen’ en ‘betekenisvolle rol’. De meeste interventies combineren verschillende werkzame elementen. Sommige combinaties van werkzame elementen komen vaak voor. Door afzonderlijke onderdelen van interventies in kaart te brengen, kan de werkzaamheid van elk element geëvalueerd worden. Het inzetten van een combinatie van werkzame elementen, en van algemene werkzame elementen zoals een goede uitvoering, kan de effectiviteit van interventies vergroten. Over the years, a wide range of loneliness interventions for older adults have been developed. The majority of these interventions are not effective in reducing loneliness. In order to gain more insight into why many interventions do not achieve the desired goal, we examine active elements that are used in interventions into reduce loneliness. In order to achieve this goal, intermediate goals are needed: to have a social network, a sense of belonging, to experience intimacy, to experience meaning. In order to arrive at a division into active elements, a qualitative analysis was carried out of 119 loneliness interventions, described in 22 reviews of interventions. The result is a division into seven active elements: 'activities', 'meeting others', practical support', 'meaningful contact', 'interpersonal skills', 'realistic expectations' and 'meaningful role'. Most interventions combine several active elements. Some combinations of active elements are common. By mapping out the individual components of interventions, the effectiveness of each element can be evaluated. The use of a combination of active elements, and of general active elements such as good execution, may increase the effectiveness of interventions

National and transnational belonging among Turkish and Moroccan older migrants in the Netherlands: protective against loneliness?

This research investigates how a sense of belonging functions as protective mechanism against loneliness. Inspired by the work of Berry (1980) on acculturation strategies (i.e. integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization), we distinguish migrants who feel a relatively strong or weak sense of belonging to larger society and those who feel a strong or weak belonging to the “own group.” We expect that more national belonging contributes to less loneliness. We add a transnational perspective by arguing that feelings of belonging to the own group can take place in the country of settlement, but can also be transnational, i.e. a feeling of belonging to the country of origin. Transnational belonging can protect against loneliness, as it acknowledges the importance of place attachment. Using data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam on older migrants aged 55–66, we employ latent class analysis and find five national belonging clusters, interpretable in terms of Berry’s acculturation strategies. Further analyses reveal mixed evidence: some aspects of transnational belonging vary with belonging to the own group, but other aspects point to a third dimension of belonging. Regression analysis shows that those marginalized are loneliest and that a transnational sense of belonging contributes to more loneliness. We conclude that Berry’s (1980) typology is useful for interpreting older migrants’ national belonging and that a transnational sense of belonging is apparent among older migrants, but needs to be explored further