School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Int J Health Plann Manage. 2019 Apr;34(2):e1149-e1165. doi: 10.1002/hpm.2750. Epub 2019 Feb 8.
In China, a population of "drifting elderly" that is mainly composed of older parents who migrate for nonemployment reasons has emerged and developed rapidly. The need to understand their social adaptation after migration is well recognized but neglected, so we explored this in the current study.
A qualitative study using a grounded theory approach was undertaken involving 53 elderly interprovincial migrants in five districts of Shanghai from July 2016 to May 2018. This involved in-depth interviews with participants. Adaptation of the drifting elderly and their motivations for migrating were studied, and differences in daily life when compared with before migrating, difficulties encountered after migrating, and social-adaptation pressure were analyzed.
The drifting elderly had poor adaptation regarding self-identity, daily activities, and social context. The adaptation process regarding daily life, social relationships, and obtaining social support was difficult. They experienced both proximate adaptation pressure (induced by providing and/or obtaining social support) and evolutionary adaptation pressure (induced by mismatch and/or constraints).
The social adaptation of the drifting elderly was affected by differences in daily life when compared with before migrating, and adaptation pressure was caused by both proximate and evolutionary factors. The decision to migrate was the result of a rational principle of maintaining the intergenerational support structure, and it was influenced by the evolutionary advantage related to maintaining this structure. Strengthening social support for the drifting elderly is necessary to promote their adaptation.
在中国，出现了一个主要由非就业原因迁移的老年父母组成的“流动老人”群体，且其发展迅速。人们已经认识到了解他们迁移后的社会适应情况的必要性，但却被忽视了，因此本研究对此进行了探讨。
采用扎根理论方法的定性研究，于 2016 年 7 月至 2018 年 5 月在上海市五个区选取 53 名跨省流动老年人进行深入访谈。研究内容包括流动老年人的适应情况及其迁移动机，以及与迁移前相比日常生活中的差异、迁移后遇到的困难和社会适应压力。
流动老年人在自我认同、日常生活和社会环境方面适应不良。日常生活、社会关系和获得社会支持的适应过程困难。他们经历了近因适应压力（由提供和/或获得社会支持引起）和进化适应压力（由不匹配和/或约束引起）。
流动老年人的社会适应受到与迁移前日常生活差异的影响，适应压力是由近因和进化因素共同引起的。迁移的决定是维持代际支持结构的理性原则的结果，受到维持这种结构的进化优势的影响。有必要加强对流动老年人的社会支持，以促进他们的适应。
