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Klok J, van Tilburg TG, Suanet B, et al. National and transnational belonging among Turkish and Moroccan older migrants in the Netherlands: protective against loneliness?. Eur J Ageing. 2017;14(4):341-351doi: 10.1007/s10433-017-0420-9.
Klok, J., van Tilburg, T. G., Suanet, B., Fokkema, T., & Huisman, M. (2017). National and transnational belonging among Turkish and Moroccan older migrants in the Netherlands: protective against loneliness?. European journal of ageing, 14(4), 341-351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-017-0420-9
Klok, Jolien, et al. "National and transnational belonging among Turkish and Moroccan older migrants in the Netherlands: protective against loneliness?." European journal of ageing vol. 14,4 (2017): 341-351. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-017-0420-9
Klok J, van Tilburg TG, Suanet B, Fokkema T, Huisman M. National and transnational belonging among Turkish and Moroccan older migrants in the Netherlands: protective against loneliness?. Eur J Ageing. 2017 Mar 30;14(4):341-351. doi: 10.1007/s10433-017-0420-9. eCollection 2017 Dec. PMID: 29180940; PMCID: PMC5684037.
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Eur J Ageing. 2017 Mar 30;14(4):341-351. doi: 10.1007/s10433-017-0420-9. eCollection 2017 Dec.

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

European journal of ageing

Jolien Klok, Theo G van Tilburg, Bianca Suanet, Tineke Fokkema, Martijn Huisman

Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
  2. Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI-KNAW), Lange Houtstraat 19, 2511 CV Den Haag, The Netherlands.
  3. University of Groningen, Broerstraat 1-11, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands.
  4. Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
  5. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1089, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

PMID: 29180940 PMCID: PMC5684037 DOI: 10.1007/s10433-017-0420-9

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Acculturation strategies; Loneliness; Older migrants; Place attachment; Transnational belonging

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