Rural place is a significant influencer of the ageing and states of well-being experienced by older women. This paper extends existing knowledge on gendered rural place by examining its influence on mid-life (45–65 years) women in rural Sweden and rural Ireland. This paper also examines rural place identity, self-identity and the enhancement of the self, and the multiple pathways to place attachment at mid-life. Qualitative data were gathered in 2019 from ten women living in Sweden’s rural Värmland region, and in 2012–2013 from 25 women living in Ireland’s rural Connemara region. Adopting a social constructionist approach within a lifecourse framework, methodology was informed by constructivist grounded theory, using one-to-one semi-structured interviews. These distinct studies show both similarity and difference in rural place identity and self-identity among mid-life women, and highlight nuances around place attachment, the home, social relationships, and the natural environment. The data show a compelling need for a greater consideration of the critical and diverse role rural place plays in shaping women’s experiences of ageing and well-being both at mid-life and in older age.

中文翻译：

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农村场所在瑞典和爱尔兰的中年妇女的生活中起什么作用？

农村地区是老年妇女经历的衰老和健康状况的重要影响者。本文通过考察其对瑞典农村地区和爱尔兰农村地区中年妇女（45-65岁）的影响，扩展了有关农村性别地区的现有知识。本文还研究了农村地区的身份认同，自我认同和自我增强，以及中年人对依恋的多种途径。定性数据于2019年从居住在瑞典Värmland农村地区的十名妇女中收集，并在2012-2013年从居住在爱尔兰农村的Connemara地区的25名妇女中收集。在人生历程框架内采用社会建构主义方法，方法以建构主义扎根的理论为基础，采用一对一的半结构化访谈。这些不同的研究显示了中年妇女在农村地方认同和自我认同方面的相似性和差异，并强调了周围的依恋，家庭，社会关系和自然环境之间的细微差别。数据表明，迫切需要更多地考虑农村地区在塑造妇女在中年和老年人中的衰老和幸福感方面所起的关键和多样化的作用。