Barriers to the retention of older participants in political organisations: evidence from Spain

Abstract

It has been argued that older people's civic engagement has benefits for both individuals themselves and the community more broadly. Removing barriers to participation is, therefore, essential. However, the multi-dimensional nature of civic participation, as well as the different issues raised by recruitment and retention, complicate this. This study explores the barriers to retention of Spanish older people in political organisations, as one important type of participation that has received little attention in the literature to date. A total of 192 people aged 65 and over and actively engaged in three kinds of political organisation participated in this study. Participants answered an open-ended question regarding perceived barriers to continued involvement. Results show a range of reasons for potential future disengagement from political organisations. These barriers fit into three overarching categories related to changes in means, motives or the opportunity context for participation. Means-related barriers were by far the most frequently identified type of barrier. Both the type of organisation and some socio-demographic and participatory characteristics have an impact on the reasons respondents indicated they may potentially stop participating in future. Results suggest the necessity of a more nuanced and multi-faceted approach to understanding barriers to participation. Particularly, the development of retention strategies by political organisations should take into account the specific characteristics of the individuals and organisations they are targeting.

What Activities Count as Active Aging? The Challenge of Classifying Diversity

“…In terms of the second type, motives, such as a desire to have their opinions taken into account or stay informed [67] and the need to make new friends, stay active, and avoid social isolation [68] were found to be predictors for participation in political activities. On the contrary, a lack of interest, dissatisfaction and indifference in relation to politics were found to be barriers to involvement in political organizations [61].…”

“…In addition, older activists tend to participate more in other active aging activities and have more associative links, wider social networks, and higher levels of interpersonal confidence than older people who are not involved in political activities [60]. In contrast, losing (or never having had) the personal resources deemed necessary to participate in such activities in terms of health, income, time, and civic skills generates a barrier to both political participation and the continuation of such participation [61].…”

“…Finally, opportunities offered by the context include all organizational and sociocultural factors that hamper or prevent older people from getting involved in politics, such as ageist attitudes, tokenism (this include older people in political organizations, but does not consider their opinions in final decisions) and management problems in political organizations [61].…”

Negociar Las Distinciones. Una Etnografía Sobre Género Y Cuidados en Un Taller De Bordados Para Señoras Mayores en Providencia (Chile)

“…Algunos autores justifican la baja tasa de participación política de la población mayor remitiendo a las dificultades de salud enfrentadas en las etapas avanzadas del ciclo vital (Serrat et al 2017). En otra línea, Iacub y Arias (2010:26) consideran que esta baja participación es resultado de un proceso de pérdida de empoderamiento de los sujetos, particularmente para aquellos que dejan el mercado productivo.…”

“…Pero, poco se sabe sobre el envejecimiento en aquellos sectores sociales de renta elevada, donde los problemas vinculados al avance de la edad se asocian a problemáticas relacionales, a la necesidad de reorganizar las cadenas de cuidado o de negociar el reconocimiento y las formas de participación en los espacios de representación social y política (Iacub y Arias 2010;Prieto et al 2015;Serrat et al 2017). El presente artículo ofrece una contribución exploratoria e inicial a estos aspectos.…”