Gender Differences in Determinants of Loneliness among Moroccan and Turkish Older Migrants in the Netherlands

Rowan ten Kate , University of Groningen
Tineke Fokkema, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)
Theo Van Tilburg, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Older migrants who originate from countries with a different linguistic and cultural background have higher feelings of loneliness than older non-migrants. In Europe, in particular Moroccan and Turkish migrants have a high loneliness but relatively little research has investigated how determinants of loneliness differ within the diverse migrant population. In this paper, we focus on gender differences in pathways to loneliness given that men and women have different preferences for social relationships. Moroccan and Turkish migrants originate from a collectivistic and patriarchal culture which has high family obligations and segregated social roles at home and in public for men and women, which affects preferences for social relationships differently. Using the migrant sample from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam with 475 first-generation Moroccan and Turkish migrants in the Netherlands, aged between 55 and 66 years, we use stratified regression models to test gender differences in determinants of loneliness. Preliminary findings show that in women, frequent contact with grandchildren and higher income are more strongly related with greater loneliness than in men. In men, frequent mosque attendance and the intention to return are more strongly related with greater loneliness than in women. Frequent contact with fellow ethnic neighbors and receiving care from children are more strongly related with lower loneliness in men than in women. In short, several determinants of loneliness differ between Moroccan and Turkish men and women, suggesting that interventions against loneliness among migrants should take into account the role of gender.

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 Presented in Session 42. Health and ageing of immigrants