Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-21T12:25:56.581Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Understanding the friendship networks of older Black and Minority Ethnic people living in the United Kingdom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 January 2020

Brenda Hayanga Open the ORCID record for Brenda Hayanga [Opens in a new window] ,
Dylan Kneale Open the ORCID record for Dylan Kneale [Opens in a new window]  and
Ann Phoenix
Brenda Hayanga*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Science, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK
Dylan Kneale
Affiliation:
Department of Social Science, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK
Ann Phoenix
Affiliation:
Department of Social Science, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: brenda.hayanga.14@ucl.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Older Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) people living in the United Kingdom (UK) are vulnerable to the experiences of social isolation and loneliness. Despite this, it is widely assumed that they adhere to traditional family practices and living arrangements that protect them from social isolation and loneliness. Such assumptions are problematic and can reify family networks as the main area of research for older BME people to the detriment of friendship networks which are also crucial. However, few researchers have explored this area. With the older BME population increasing at a faster rate than the older white population, further research is needed. Utilising data from Wave 6 of Understanding Society (N = 7,499, 4.3% of whom self-identified as BME), this study explores the ways in which the friendship networks of older BME people differ compared to older white people using logistic regression analyses. After controlling for potential confounding socio-demographic characteristics, older BME people were more likely to report having fewer close friends and fewer friends who live locally, suggesting that their friendship networks may be restricted in quantity and accessibility. Not only do these findings raise important questions about the varying needs of older minority ethnic people who have been largely overlooked in recent government policy, but they also highlight the continuing challenges of using large-scale surveys to research older BME people in the UK.

Keywords

ageingBlack and Minority Ethnic (BME)ethnicityfriendssocial isolationloneliness
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 41 , Issue 7 , July 2021 , pp. 1521 - 1540
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahmad, WIU and Walker, R (1997) Asian older people: housing, health and access to services. Ageing & Society 17, 141–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allan, G (2010) Friendship and ageing. In Dannefer, D and Phillipson, C (eds), The Handbook of Social Gerontology. London: Sage, pp. 238–247.Google Scholar
Bernard, S (2013) Loneliness and Social Isolation Among Older People in North Yorkshire. Available at https://www.york.ac.uk/inst/spru/research/pdf/lonely.pdf.Google Scholar
Burholt, V, Dobbs, C and Victor, C (2018) Social support networks of older migrants in England and Wales: the role of collectivist culture. Ageing & Society 38, 1453–1477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butt, J and O'Neil, A (2004) Black and Minority Ethnic Older People's Views on Research Findings. Available at https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/black-and-minority-ethnic-older-peoples-views-research-findings.Google Scholar
Cela, E and Fokkema, T (2017) Being lonely later in life: a qualitative study among Albanians and Moroccans in Italy. Ageing & Society 37, 1197–1226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Centre for Policy on Ageing (2013) The Ageing of Ethnic Minority Population of England and Wales: Findings from the 2011 Census. Available at http://www.cpa.org.uk/information/reviews/theageingoftheethnicminoritypopulationsofenglandandwales-findingsfromthe2011census.pdf.Google Scholar
Cloutier-Fisher, D, Kobayashib, K and Smith, A (2011) The subjective dimension of social isolation: a qualitative investigation of older adults’ experiences in small social support networks. Journal of Aging Studies 24, 407–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Jong Gierveld, J (1998) A review of loneliness: concept and definitions, determinants and consequences. Reviews in Clinical Gerontology 8, 73–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickens, AP, Richards, SH, Greaves, CJ and Campbell, JL (2011) Interventions targeting social isolation in older people: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 11, 647.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fokkema, T and Naderi, R (2013) Differences in late-life loneliness: a comparison between Turkish and native-born older adults in Germany. European Journal of Ageing 10, 289–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gough, O and Adami, R (2013) Saving for retirement: a review of ethnic minorities in the UK. Social Policy and Society 12, 147–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Government Office for Science (2016) Foresight Projects: Future of an Ageing Population. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/535187/gs-16-10-future-of-an-ageing-population.pdf.Google Scholar
HM Government (2018) A Connected Society. A Strategy for Tackling Loneliness – Laying the Foundations for Change. Available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/750909/6.4882_DCMS_Loneliness_Strategy_web_Update.pdf.Google Scholar
Huxhold, O, Miche, M and Schuz, B (2014) Benefits of having friends in older ages: differential effects of informal social activities on well-being in middle-aged and older adults. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 69B, 366–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janta, H, Ladkin, A, Brown, L and Lugosi, P (2011) Employment experiences of Polish migrant workers in the UK hospitality sector. Tourism Management 32, 1006–1019.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khan, O (2017) Race is no protection against loneliness. In Joplin, K and Barnett, A (eds), Alone in the Crowd: Loneliness and Diversity . Available at http://www.ageingwellinwales.com/Libraries/Documents/Alone-in-the-Crowd---Loneliness-and-Diversity.pdf.Google Scholar
Kneale, D (2012) Is Social Exclusion Still Important for Older People? Available at https://ilcuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Social-exclusion-Report.pdf.Google Scholar
Knies, G (2016) Understanding Society – UK Household Longitudinal Study: Waves 1–6 2009–2015, User Guide. Colchester, UK: University of Essex.Google Scholar
Koelet, S and de Valk, HAG (2016) Social networks and feelings of social loneliness after migration: the case of European migrants with a native partner in Belgium. Ethnicities 16, 610–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lievesley, N (2010) The Future of Ageing Ethnic Population in England and Wales. London: Runnymede and The Centre for Policy on Ageing.Google Scholar
McFall, S, Nandi, A and Platt, L (2016) Understanding Society: UK Household Longitudinal Study: User Guide to Ethnicity and Immigration Research, 3rd Edn. Colchester, UK: University of Essex.Google Scholar
Mirzazadeh, A, Shokoohi, M, Navadeh, S, Danesh, A, Jain, J, Sedaghat, A and Haghdoost, A (2018) Underreporting in HIV-related high-risk behaviors: comparing the results of multiple data collection methods in a behavioral survey of prisoners in Iran. Prison Journal 98, 213–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Modood, T and Berthoud, R (1997) Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage. London: Policy Studies Institute.Google Scholar
NOMIS (2013) Official Labour Market Statistics. DC2101EW – Ethnic Group by Sex and Age. Available at https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/DC2101EW/view/2092957703?rows=c_ethpuk11andcols=c_age.Google Scholar
Phillipson, C (2013) Ageing. Key Concepts. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Phillipson, C (2015) Placing ethnicity at the centre of studies of later life: theoretical perspectives and empirical challenges. Ageing & Society 35, 917–934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Policarpo, V (2015) What is a friend? An exploratory typology of the meanings of friendship. Social Sciences 4, 171–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shankar, A, McMunn, A, Banks, J and Steptoe, A (2011) Loneliness, social isolation, and behavioral and biological health indicators in older adults. Health Psychology: Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association 30, 377–385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sin, CH (2004) Sampling minority ethnic older people in Britain. Ageing & Society 24, 257–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Social Care Institute for Excellence (2012) At a Glance 60: Preventing Loneliness and Social Isolation Among Older People. Available at http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/ataglance/ataglance60.asp.Google Scholar
Solá, AG and Vilhelmson, B (2018) Negotiating proximity in sustainable urban planning: a Swedish case. Sustainability 11, 1–18.Google Scholar
Spencer, S, Ruhs, M, Anderson, B and Rogaly, B (2007) Migrants’ Lives Beyond the Workplace. The Experiences of Central and East Europeans in the UK. Available at https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/experiences-central-and-east-european-migrants-uk.Google Scholar
Stata (2018) Stata/MP. Available at https://www.stata.com/statamp/.Google Scholar
Steventon, A and Sanchez, C (2008) The Under Pensioned: Disabled People and People from Ethnic Minorities (EHRC Research Report Series No. 5). Manchester, UK: Equality and Human Rights Commission.Google Scholar
Tillin, T, Hughes, AD, Mayet, J, Whincup, P, Sattar, N, Forouhi, NG and Chaturvedi, N (2013) The relationship between metabolic risk factors and incident cardiovascular disease in Europeans, South Asians, and African Caribbeans: SABRE (Southall and Brent revisited) – a prospective population-based study. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 61, 1777–1786.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Torres, S (2019) Ethnicity, race and care in older age: what can a social justice framework offer? In Westwood, S (ed.), Ageing, Diversity and Equality: Social Justice Perspectives. London: Routledge, pp. 167–180.Google Scholar
Treas, J and Mazumdar, S (2002) Older people in America's immigrant families: dilemmas of dependence, integration, and isolation. Journal of Aging Studies 16, 243–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Understanding Society (2013) UK Household Longitudinal Study Mainstage Questionnaire Wave 6, v02. Available at https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/documentation/mainstage/questionnaire/wave-6/Wave_6_Questionnaire_Consultation_v02.pdf?q=9558304d7af4598006c470cda6c94ef4fabe3668.Google Scholar
Understanding Society (2017) Getting Started – Using Understanding Society Data. Available at https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/documentation/getting-started.Google Scholar
Van Tilburg, MA, Vingerhoets, AJ and Van Heck, GL (1996) Homesickness: a review of the literature. Psychological Medicine 26, 899–912.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Victor, C, Burholt, V and Martin, W (2012) Loneliness and ethnic minority elders in Great Britain: an exploratory study. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology 27, 65–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Victor, C, Scambler, S, Bowling, A and Bond, J (2005) The prevalence of and risk factors for, loneliness in later life: a survey of older people in Great Britain. Ageing & Society 25, 357–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vlachantoni, A, Feng, Z, Evandrou, M and Falkingham, J (2015) Ethnicity and occupational pension membership in the UK. Social Policy & Administration 49, 801–823.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vlachantoni, A, Feng, ZX, Evandrou, M and Falkingham, J (2017) Ethnic elders and pension protection in the United Kingdom. Ageing & Society 37, 1025–1049.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenger, C, Davies, R, Shahtahmasebi, S and Scott, A (1996) Social isolation and loneliness in old age: review and model refinement. Ageing & Society 16, 333–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Hayanga et al. supplementary material

Hayanga et al. supplementary material

Download Hayanga et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 222.6 KB