Amit Karin, Litwin Howard
Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer, Israel.
Soc Indic Res. 2010 Aug;98(1):89-104. doi: 10.1007/s11205-009-9519-5.
The present study evaluated the integration of elderly people who migrated to Israel during their lifetimes. Subjective well-being, as measured by the immigrants' perception of quality of life, satisfaction with life and emotional state, served as a general indicator of integration. The integration of elderly immigrants has not received adequate attention in the literature. A unique database (SHARE-Israel) that was recently released has made study of this topic possible. The current study sample was composed of former migrants aged 50 and older (n = 930). The analytic model examined ethnic origin and migration variables in relation to the respective subjective outcomes, controlling for sociodemographic background, human and social capital and health. The findings show that in general, ethnic origin seems to matter less for the evaluation of immigrants' subjective well-being than other socio economic factors such as economic status, social capital and health status. However, recent arrivals from the Former Soviet Union do differ from all other immigrant groups in their lower levels of well-being. In addition, the study points to the importance of language proficiency as a central means for integration in the destination country.
本研究评估了一生中移民到以色列的老年人的融入情况。通过移民对生活质量的感知、生活满意度和情绪状态来衡量的主观幸福感，作为融入的一个总体指标。老年移民的融入在文献中尚未得到充分关注。最近发布的一个独特数据库（以色列健康、老龄化和退休调查）使对这一主题的研究成为可能。当前的研究样本由50岁及以上的前移民组成（n = 930）。分析模型考察了种族起源和移民变量与各自主观结果的关系，并控制了社会人口背景、人力和社会资本以及健康状况。研究结果表明，总体而言，在评估移民的主观幸福感方面，种族起源似乎不如经济状况、社会资本和健康状况等其他社会经济因素重要。然而，来自前苏联的新移民在幸福感水平较低方面确实与所有其他移民群体不同。此外，该研究指出语言能力作为融入目的国的核心手段的重要性。
