‘It’s like a double-edged sword’: understanding Confucianism’s role in activity participation among first-generation older Chinese migrants in the Netherlands and Belgium

Abstract

While activity participation in later life has attracted considerable attention from policymakers and scholars, indoor and outdoor engagement among older Chinese migrants in Europe is understudied. Using in-depth interviews with 21 older Chinese migrants in the Netherlands and seven in Belgium, this study is among the first to explore older Chinese migrants' activity participation experiences from the perspective of Confucianism, the cornerstone of Chinese culture. More specifically, the impact of four acknowledged principles of Confucianism are considered: hierarchical relationships, family system, benevolence and emphasis on education. The findings show that, like a double-edged sword, these four principles have positive and negative effects on older Chinese migrants' activity participation. Hierarchical relationships promote formal organisational participation, yet concurrently dividing the Chinese community into smaller subgroups and endangering solidarity within the community. With regard to family system, which emphasizes intergenerational responsibility and obligation, older Confucianist migrants prioritise taking care of their grandchildren, resulting in less time to participate in outdoor activities. Benevolence, the third principle of Confucianism, restrains older Chinese migrants from political participation while encouraging them to attend community meetings where food is shared. Lastly, emphasis on education, of which self-cultivation is an important aspect, helps older Chinese migrants overcome feelings of loneliness and makes them prefer self-learning activity above formal learning settings (e.g. language learning) organised by the government. The article ends with policy recommendations on how to increase older Chinese migrants' outdoor activities.

Loneliness in Older Migrants: Exploring the Role of Cultural Differences in Their Loneliness Experience

“…This limitation also points to the opportunity for future studies to conduct qualitative interviews with older adults with language barriers (possibly the most socially excluded ones) to get deeper insights into their loneliness experiences. Not being able to speak the local language (i.e., having the language barrier) can lead to poor quality social relationships [51,52] and exclusion from social participation in the larger society [21]. Second, we have a rather small sample size, especially for the group of cultural migrants, in our study, which restricts the interest to test the possible differences in the predictive power of the independent variables (e.g., everyday discrimination) across the three groups.…”

“…Older migrants might experience loneliness differently from those without a migration background for a number of reasons. The first is the changing of social networks, as migration often entails leaving behind an already established social network in their home country [21]. Another factor is the cultural distance or difference from the culture of the host country, which could lead to difficulties in socializing with others, eventually leading to higher levels of loneliness in older migrants who do not share a similar language and culture [6].…”

“…Perhaps the best researched is the emphasis on close or familial relationships in collectivist cultures. Older collectivist migrants often place more emphasis on family relationships or relationships with their adult children [21]. Filial piety received from adult children protects older Chinese migrants in the US from loneliness [27], while not having adult co-residing children is a risk factor for ageing migrants' loneliness [28].…”

Motivators and barriers to social participation in two Chinese long-term care institutions: A focus-group study

“…To date, no study has yet focused on older LTC residents' motivation and barriers to social participation in mainland China. Nevertheless, research exploring such motivators and barriers to social participation in LTC in the context of mainland China is needed as Chinese older adults, influenced by Confucianist teachings might experience and interpret social participation differently from western counterparts (Pan et al, 2021). For instance, while western adults value participation and connection with the wider society as an importance aspect of participation, older Chinese put more emphasis on familial participation (Pan et al, 2021).…”

“…Nevertheless, research exploring such motivators and barriers to social participation in LTC in the context of mainland China is needed as Chinese older adults, influenced by Confucianist teachings might experience and interpret social participation differently from western counterparts (Pan et al, 2021). For instance, while western adults value participation and connection with the wider society as an importance aspect of participation, older Chinese put more emphasis on familial participation (Pan et al, 2021). In addition, of the available research in Chinese LTC institutions, the institutional hierarchical context is found to be detrimental for older residents to forge meaningful relationship with co-habitants (Cheng et al, 2009).…”