Everyday solitude, affective experiences, and well-being in old age: the role of culture versus immigration

Abstract

Objectives: Being alone is often equated with loneliness. Yet, recent findings suggest that the objective state of being alone (i.e. solitude) can have both positive and negative connotations. The present research aimed to examine (1) affective experience in daily solitude; and (2) the association between everyday affect in solitude and well-being. We examined the distinct roles of culture and immigration in moderating these associations.

Method: Using up to 35 daily life assessments of momentary affect, solitude, and emotional well-being in two samples (Canada and China), the study compared older adults who aged in place (local Caucasians in Vancouver , Canada and local Hong Kong Chinese in Hong Kong, China) and older adults of different cultural heritages who immigrated to Canada (immigrated Caucasians and immigrated East Asians).

Results: We found that older adults of East Asian heritage experienced more positive and less negative affect when alone than did Caucasians. Reporting positive affect in solitude was more positively associated with well-being in older adults who had immigrated to Canada as compared to those who had aged in place.

Conclusions:These findings speak to the unique effects of culture and immigration on the affective correlates of solitude and their associations with well-being in old age.

Keywords:

• Solitude
• emotion
• age
• immigration
• culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Due to historical reasons (e.g., the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997), many older adults who are currently living in Vancouver, Canada emigrated from China. In Metro Vancouver (B.C.), Canada, more than 30% of immigrants are from Chinese cities (Metro Vancouver, 2011). Other older adults, meanwhile, emigrated from Western cultures, such as European countries and the United States.

2 Forty out of the 43 East Asians were from China.

3 Young-old local Caucasians: b = −.15, SE = .10, t = −1.48, p = .15, 95% CI = [−.36, .06]; old-old local Caucasians: b = −.17, SE = .22, t = −.76, p = .45, 95% CI = [−.62, .28]; young-old immigrated Caucasians: b = −.02, SE = .22, t = −.11, p = .92, 95% CI = [−.48, .44]; young-old immigrated East Asians: b = .12, SE = .19, t = .67, p = .51, 95% CI = [−.26, .50].

Additional information

Funding

The work described in this paper was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council General Research Fund (14403014) to Helene H. Fung, the South China Programme Research Grant, Chinese University of Hong Kong to Helene H. Fung, Christiane A. Hoppmann, Da Jiang, and Jennifer Lay, a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Catalyst Grant to Christiane A. Hoppmann, Maureen C. Ashe, Peter Graf, Karim Miran-Khan, and Jochen P. Ziegelmann (IAP-107853), a Start-up Grant from the Education University of Hong Kong to Da Jiang, and the Research Support Scheme 2017/2018 of the Department of Special Education and Counselling at the Education University of Hong Kong to Da Jiang. Christiane Hoppmann gratefully acknowledges the support of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) and the Canada Research Chairs program. Maureen C. Ashe also acknowledges the support of the Canada Research Chairs program