Successful Ageing among Persons with a Migration Background

Many countries in Western Europe have large and growing populations of older Turkish migrants. Turkish migrants tend to have relatively poor later-life outcomes in a broad range of areas.

Efforts to improve the ways in which Turkish migrants age may be hampered by a lack of knowledge, given the limited attention to ageing in the study of immigrants and to immigrants in the study of ageing.

Rowe and Kahn’s model of successful ageing (SA), which has for decades been presented as a benchmark of how people should ideally become older, may be of limited use for the case of older Turkish migrants, given the plausibly specific ageing preferences of this group, the fact that risk factors for adverse later-life outcomes may be different for migrants than for non-migrants, and the fact that migrants may be confronted with specific challenges, such as discriminatory practices.

A redefined model of ageing well is therefore called for. The envisaged project will contribute to this through the pursuit of three sets of specific research objectives: 1.

To provide insights (a) in the perceptions of SA held by older Turkish migrants, (b) in potential differences between these perceptions and the views of older non-migrants, and (c) in variation by gender in these views. 2.

To assess (a) whether the impact of particular socio-demographic factors on (dimensions of) SA differs between older Turkish migrants and older non-migrants, and (b) whether differences by migrant status are gendered. 3. To explain variation within the group of older Turkish migrants on (dimensions of) SA.

To achieve these goals, multiple data sources with complementary strengths will be analysed, and innovative statistical techniques, such as factorial design experiments, fixed effects regression and instrumental variable estimation, will be used.

Three destination countries will be considered to gain a broad understanding of the ageing experiences of older Turkish migrants: Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway.