The Migration and Well-Being of the Zero Generation: Transgenerational Care, Grandparenting, and Loneliness amongst Albanian Older People

Abstract

This paper focuses on the so-called 'zero generation': the parents of first-generation migrants who are initially left behind in the migrant country of origin and who may subsequently follow their children in migration or engage in transnational back-and-forth mobility. We challenge the prevailing optic on the left-behind older generation which sees them as dependent and in need of care, and stress instead their active participation both in migration and in the administration of care and support to their children and grandchildren. Drawing on interviews with mainly zero-generation Albanians, but also some first-generation migrants, in various geographical contexts -Albania, Italy, Greece and the UK -we trace their evolving patterns of mobility, intergenerational care, wellbeing and loneliness both in Albania and abroad. In telling the often-overlooked story of the zero generation, we highlight both their vulnerability and agency in different circumstances and at different times, shaped by family composition and the ageing process.

The impact of migration on intergenerational solidarity types

“…Crossborder ties have still scarcely been addressed in research on intergenerational relationships (Karpinska and Dykstra 2018). Living transnationally can be seen as a threat to family solidarity due to geographical distance (King et al 2014), yet innovative technologies facilitate new forms of contact and support exchange (Baldassar et al 2016), and detached relationships are quite rare (Rooyackers, de Valk, and Merz 2016). Applying structural and cultural explanations, transnational families are likely to display different patterns from stayers.…”

Transnational ageing and the ‘zero generation’: the role of Moroccan migrants’ parents in care circulation

“…We do know that transnational caregiving occurs between migrant children and their older parents, but we know much less about the role that migrants' ascendants play in these cross-border dynamics. A few notable studies have attempted to fill this gap: firstly, by identifying migrants' ascendants as they provide care for their grandchildren in the country of origin (Da 2003), and, secondly, a handful of scholars have examined the mobility of migrants' ascendants (Goulbourne and Chamberlain 2001;Horn, 2016;King et al 2014;Treas 2008). For example, Plaza (2000) identified Caribbean grandmothers in the United Kingdom as they cared for and socialised their grandchildren by becoming 'transnational flying grannies'.…”

“…Moreover, it signalled filial abandonment, a poor reflection on their children and them as parents (cf. King et al 2014).…”

“…At the heart of many transnational families, whatever their configurations and characteristics, is the exchange of care and support across national borders, or 'transnational caregiving' (Baldassar, Baldock, and Wilding 2007). The various studies of caregiving practices across borders demonstrate the importance of the life course in these relational dynamics (Baldassar 2007;Ghergel and Le Gall 2010;King et al 2014;Wall and Bolzman 2014;Zhou 2012). As these families move through various migration and life phases, their transitions affect their care needs, expectations and capacities.…”

Return Migration and Psychosocial Wellbeing

“…Further, next to the paucity of studies incorporating the dynamic character of return migration, there are few studies that try to capture the complexity of these migration processes (Wright 2011), since most focus on only one or a couple of impact factors. Third, most studies look at returnees' living situations in terms of their economic situation; less attention is paid to returnees' subjective experiences of their return situation and their entire migration process (King et al 2014;Wright 2011). …”