Multiple disadvantage of older migrants and native Dutch older adults in deprived neighbourhoods in Amsterdam, the Netherlands: a life course perspective

Abstract

It is commonly suggested that older non-Western migrants have a higher risk of experiencing multiple forms of disadvantage than native older adults. However, few researchers have studied the life situation and urban conditions of older migrants in relation to each other and in comparison to native older adults with a similar socioeconomic status. This paper investigates whether different groups of older non-Western migrants (of Surinamese, Moroccan and Turkish origin) in deprived neighbourhoods in Amsterdam experience similar or different levels of multiple disadvantage compared to socioeconomically similar native Dutch older residents living in the same neighbourhoods, and explores how multiple disadvantage can be explained in relation to life and residential histories and neighbourhood changes. Analysis of 85 in-depth interviews indicates that all categories of low-income older adults experienced certain levels of disadvantage, although they evaluated their circumstances using different frames of reference. Regarding health, both native-born and migrant older people experienced chronic illness. However, the results of this study suggest that those in the latter group (especially Moroccans and Turks) experienced health problems and related functional limitations at a younger age. Native Dutch older adults were somewhat better off with respect to the availability of household resources, but compared to older non-Western migrants were more likely to experience the negative effects of neighbourhood deprivation. In summary, this study refines common assertions that older migrants are more disadvantaged than native older adults. Differences in experiences of advantage and disadvantage have their origin in differences in life and residential histories and neighbourhood change.