Older Adults’ Internal Migration Toward Faraway Siblings

Alyona Artamonova*, Brian Gillespie

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    4 Citations (Scopus)
    89 Downloads (Pure)

    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 (a) 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 (b) 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 affect 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.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1336–1349
    Number of pages14
    JournalThe Journals of Gerontology. Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
    Volume77
    Issue number7
    Early online date8-Feb-2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2022

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