Ageing without family - who cares?

The immediate family (IF) – partner and children – is a central resource for support to older adults, and its members often act as advocates in relation to public authorities. Older adults without IF are at high risk of missing such support.

The purpose of this project is to study the consequences of growing old without IF, with a particular focus on wellbeing and support network.We study three themes connected to ageing without IF: 1) Health and wellbeing, 2) Support networks and the forms of support these networks provide, 3) The older adults´ own experiences of ageing and wellbeing, and how these are shaped by support networks and earlier life experiences.

We use two complementary data sets: 1) Nationally representative survey data (SWEOLD) in which the living conditions of older (75+) Swedes have been followed in six waves since 1992. 2) A set of qualitative interviews with older adults 75+ with no IF.It will become increasingly common to grow old without IF, still there has been very little research done on the group.

The current stay-in-place policy combined with demands for elder care rationalization has placed higher demands on IF to provide support for older family members, potentially making older people without IF vulnerable.

The project will contribute knowledge about the growing minority of older people without IF, that is important for the planning and realization of municipal support, and for updating potentially dated assumptions about the group.