ABSTRACT

The aging population, coupled with increasing diversification, is currently altering the social fabric of cities worldwide. At the local level, social ties within a neighborhood play a key role in enabling older people to age in familiar surroundings. However, family ties in the neighborhood become less common implying that older people become more dependent on alternative support systems such as friends and neighbors. Drawing from a mixed-method research in Berlin (Germany), focus group discussions (26 participants) and survey data (n= 506), we explore the scope of neighborhood support in later life. Our qualitative findings suggest that women, migrants, and people without families close by primarily provide support to fellow older people. Findings from ordinal regression analysis support this on a larger scale. We conclude that these findings point to a new meaning of spatial proximity for social support in times of weakened family ties and growing diversity in old age.

摘要

人口老龄化，加上日益多样化，目前正在改变全球城市的社会结构。在地方层面，社区内的社会关系在使老年人能够在熟悉的环境中变老方面发挥着关键作用。然而，邻里的家庭关系变得不那么普遍，这意味着老年人变得更加依赖其他支持系统，如朋友和邻居。来自柏林（德国）的混合方法研究、焦点小组讨论（26 名参与者）和调查数据（n= 506），我们探讨了晚年邻里支持的范围。我们的定性研究结果表明，妇女、移民和附近没有家人的人主要为老年人提供支持。序数回归分析的结果在更大范围内支持了这一点。我们得出的结论是，这些发现指出了在家庭关系减弱和老年多样性日益增加的时期，空间接近性对社会支持的新含义。