Chen Yingqiu, Buckingham Louisa
School of Cultures, Languages, and Linguistics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Australas J Ageing. 2025 Jun;44(2):e70043. doi: 10.1111/ajag.70043.
This study explored the forms and motivations of older migrants' creative engagement in the host country in their daily context, and how the engagement influences older migrants in their postmigration life.
A qualitative approach was used by conducting in-depth interviews and photo elicitation with 18 older Chinese migrants in New Zealand. Data were coded using a hybrid approach of deductive content analysis and inductive thematic analysis.
Four types of creative engagement were identified: nature (gardening), art-making (e.g. making vlogs and painting), handcrafts (knitting and carpentry) and creative writing (journaling). Gardening, as the most popular activity, helped link participants' past to their current life. Some participants used digital tools (e.g. mobile phones) to develop their creative skills. Respondents reported that migration-related stress (e.g. language barriers and a limited social network) contributed to their having constrained lives, which meant that they had more spare time for creative pursuits. Participants' life histories influenced their choice of pursuits. Finally, participants indicated that creative activities helped alleviate stress and contributed to their adjustment to life in the host country and to sustaining their well-being. Those who did not engage in creative pursuits attributed it to their personal life histories (e.g. deprivation of education) and postmigration commitments (e.g. caregiving responsibilities).
Postmigration challenges do not necessarily discourage older migrants from creative pursuits, but instead they may shape the type of pursuit chosen and the form of engagement. Previous life experiences also affected the choice of creative pursuits in later life. These creative engagements appear to help sustain older migrants' postmigration well-being.
本研究探讨了老年移民在侨居国日常环境中参与创造性活动的形式和动机，以及这种参与如何影响他们移民后的生活。
采用定性研究方法，对18名在新西兰的中国老年移民进行了深入访谈和照片诱导。数据采用演绎性内容分析和归纳性主题分析相结合的方法进行编码。
确定了四种创造性参与类型：与自然相关的活动（园艺）、艺术创作（如制作视频博客和绘画）、手工艺（编织和木工）以及创意写作（写日记）。园艺作为最受欢迎的活动，有助于将参与者的过去与当前生活联系起来。一些参与者使用数字工具（如手机）来提升他们的创造技能。受访者表示，与移民相关的压力（如语言障碍和社交网络有限）导致他们的生活受到限制，这意味着他们有更多的空闲时间用于创造性追求。参与者的生活经历影响了他们对追求活动的选择。最后，参与者指出创造性活动有助于减轻压力，促进他们适应侨居国的生活并维持幸福感。那些没有参与创造性追求的人将其归因于他们的个人生活经历（如缺乏教育）和移民后的责任（如照顾他人的责任）。
移民后的挑战不一定会阻碍老年移民进行创造性追求，反而可能会塑造他们所选择的追求类型和参与形式。以前的生活经历也会影响晚年创造性追求的选择。这些创造性参与似乎有助于维持老年移民移民后的幸福感。
