Older Adults’ Internal Migration Toward Faraway Siblings

Abstract

Objectives Research on the role of siblings in older adult migration lags behind a growing number of studies on adult children as a mobility attraction. We attend to this gap by examining (i) to what extent the absence of partners and/or adult children influences older adults’ (age 70-84) migration toward faraway siblings (at least 50 km away) and (ii) how these migrations are patterned by the location of other family members (children, other siblings, and nephews/nieces). Methods We use multinomial logistic regression models and analyze dyads of older adults and all distant siblings from the Swedish population register data between 2012 and 2016 (N = 1,743,234). We control for several characteristics of older adults and their siblings that may impact the decision to move closer, including sociodemographic characteristics and measures of location-specific capital. Results Widowed, divorced, and never married older adults were more likely to move closer to distant siblings than those with a partner. Not having children was associated with a higher likelihood of moving toward a sibling. Living near adult children or other siblings deterred relocation toward siblings, while family clustered at a distance reinforced the location’s attractiveness for migration. Discussion As declines in fertility broadly reflect people’s decisions to have fewer children or forego having families, siblings might emerge as more active players in the family networks of older adults. Our research indicates that siblings can be a destination for migration and, therefore, should be considered as important members of social networks of older adults, especially those who do not have partners and/or adult children available.

Moving for proximity to family, care needs and the locations of family members: An analysis of matched survey and register data

“…We do not find similar evidence for living far from siblings, however: the coefficient for having at least one sibling living farther away than 30 km is small and the statistical significance level exceeds 0.10. This lack of evidence of a role of distant siblings in migration runs counter to findings from previous studies based on Swedish register data, indicating a role of siblings in young adult migration to large cities (Mulder et al, 2020a) and in migration among older adults (Artamonova & Gillespie, 2022). We refer to Section 5 for interpretation of this lack of evidence.…”

“…This lack of evidence runs counter previous evidence on moving towards siblings among young adults (Mulder et al, 2020a(Mulder et al, , 2020b and older adults (Artamonova & Gillespie, 2022). One explanation might be that siblings are less likely to attract migration at ages 30-64 when many have both parents and children alive-to whom relationships tend to be stronger than siblings (Bengtson, 2001;Knijn & Liefbroer, 2006)-than at younger and older ages.…”

“…Studies of actual moves—regardless of the motivations underlying the moves—have indeed suggested the existence of both an anchor role of family (Artamonova & Syse, 2021; Ermisch & Mulder, 2019; Gillespie, 2022; Mulder & Malmberg, 2014) and a beacon role (Artamonova & Gillespie, 2022; Pettersson and Malmberg, 2009; Thomas & Dommermuth, 2020). The beacon role of family is also apparent in the motivations for moving that research participants report: proximity to nonresident family is mentioned frequently (Gillespie & Mulder, 2020; Wall & Von Reichert, 2013).…”

Moving and staying in the context of the family: A review and an introduction to the Special Issue

“…In particular, severe health problems were associated with an increased likelihood of parental relocations to within a short distance of an adult child or to institutions in Sweden (Artamonova et al, 2020). In another Swedish study, older adults were particularly likely to move to live close to a sibling if they had no children, and also more likely to do so if they had children but none of the children lived close by (Artamonova & Gillespie, 2022). Smits (2010) highlighted the importance of the adult child's support needs, indicated by widowhood, divorce and receiving disability benefits.…”

Internal migration following adverse life events: Assessing the likelihood of return migration and migration toward family

“…Return migration and migration towards family are elevated at the time of divorce or separation, but also in the years after ( Spring et al, 2021 ). Similarly, moves following the death of a spouse are especially likely to be towards family ( Artamonova & Gillespie, 2022 ; Thomas & Dommermuth, 2020 ). Widowed parents are especially likely to migrate towards an adult child rather than the child towards the parent, suggesting people generally migrate to receive, rather than provide, care ( Thomas & Dommermuth, 2020 ).…”