The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

"Left like stones in the middle of the road": narratives of aging alone and coping strategies in rural Albania and Bulgaria

"Left like stones in the middle of the road": narratives of aging alone and coping strategies in rural Albania and Bulgaria
"Left like stones in the middle of the road": narratives of aging alone and coping strategies in rural Albania and Bulgaria
Objectives: We explore and compare older adults’ living experiences and coping strategies in two post-communist countries – Albania and Bulgaria. Wholesale youth outmigration and regional economic and institutional decline have led to depopulating and decaying rural areas where older adults become ‘abandoned’. Aging alone, as couples or widowed, they are socially marginalized and in constant search for coping mechanisms which enable them to survive.

Methods: We adopt a social-psychology theoretical framework which distinguishes between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. Data include 28 in-depth interviews with older residents and participant observation in selected rural areas of the two countries.

Results: In both countries, rural social isolation is expressed as a lack of close family ties – mainly due to the removal through outmigration of children and grandchildren – and detachment from society at large. The most prevalent coping mechanism consists of practical and emotional support from non-kin ties, especially neighbors. Remittances help to resolve material needs, especially in Albania, where most rural young people migrate abroad. In both settings, a range of emotion-focused coping strategies were identified, including perceptions of decreased needs, lowered expectations about relationships, and satisfaction at the achievements of the younger generations.

Discussion: Similarities between research findings in Albania and Bulgaria reflect their shared political and institutional history. Although few, differences relate to a combination of contrasting outmigration and cultural patterns. In both settings problem- and emotion-focused adaptive strategies are overlapping, and successful aging efforts seem to be of a communal rather than an individualistic nature.
in-depth interviews, social support , rural aging, loneliness, migration
1079-5014
1492-1500
Conkova, Nina
575fa2dd-9e99-40b5-9e83-f07d16dbefca
Vullnetari, Julie
463db806-c809-43d6-9795-1104e3a5788b
King, Russell
f0a62977-71ed-49ca-9e2d-a51c4489c09f
Fokkema, Tineke
f8d3b4bb-5c61-4257-8797-2ef4bd25acb2
Conkova, Nina
575fa2dd-9e99-40b5-9e83-f07d16dbefca
Vullnetari, Julie
463db806-c809-43d6-9795-1104e3a5788b
King, Russell
f0a62977-71ed-49ca-9e2d-a51c4489c09f
Fokkema, Tineke
f8d3b4bb-5c61-4257-8797-2ef4bd25acb2

Conkova, Nina, Vullnetari, Julie, King, Russell and Fokkema, Tineke (2018) "Left like stones in the middle of the road": narratives of aging alone and coping strategies in rural Albania and Bulgaria. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 1492-1500. (doi:10.1093/geronb/gby127).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objectives: We explore and compare older adults’ living experiences and coping strategies in two post-communist countries – Albania and Bulgaria. Wholesale youth outmigration and regional economic and institutional decline have led to depopulating and decaying rural areas where older adults become ‘abandoned’. Aging alone, as couples or widowed, they are socially marginalized and in constant search for coping mechanisms which enable them to survive.

Methods: We adopt a social-psychology theoretical framework which distinguishes between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. Data include 28 in-depth interviews with older residents and participant observation in selected rural areas of the two countries.

Results: In both countries, rural social isolation is expressed as a lack of close family ties – mainly due to the removal through outmigration of children and grandchildren – and detachment from society at large. The most prevalent coping mechanism consists of practical and emotional support from non-kin ties, especially neighbors. Remittances help to resolve material needs, especially in Albania, where most rural young people migrate abroad. In both settings, a range of emotion-focused coping strategies were identified, including perceptions of decreased needs, lowered expectations about relationships, and satisfaction at the achievements of the younger generations.

Discussion: Similarities between research findings in Albania and Bulgaria reflect their shared political and institutional history. Although few, differences relate to a combination of contrasting outmigration and cultural patterns. In both settings problem- and emotion-focused adaptive strategies are overlapping, and successful aging efforts seem to be of a communal rather than an individualistic nature.

Text
King et al. (2018) Left like stones_AL&Bulgaria_AM_Oct18
Download (63kB)

More information

In preparation date: 2018
Submitted date: 15 August 2018
Accepted/In Press date: 6 October 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 20 October 2018
Published date: 30 November 2018
Keywords: in-depth interviews, social support , rural aging, loneliness, migration

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 428145
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/428145
ISSN: 1079-5014
PURE UUID: 82266c68-f651-4a84-bba9-ec6fd5b50c9f
ORCID for Julie Vullnetari: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1578-8622

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 12 Feb 2019 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:19

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Nina Conkova
Author: Russell King
Author: Tineke Fokkema

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×