From the Civil War to Loneliness: Vulnerability in the Lives of Older People
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54790/rccs.41Keywords:
old people, living alone, vulnerability, unmet needs, qualitative methodologyAbstract
This article addresses the social reality of people over the age 80 years old, focusing on the problems that affect their daily lives and the resources required to deal with them. Based on qualitative methodology, it uses interviews as an information-production technique and grounded theory as an analytical tool. Our results indicate that these people, who live alone, are exposed to a situation of vulnerability that is generated as a result of the deterioration of their health or physical weakness. At home, many of them have difficulty performing domestic tasks, while outside, their social activity is reduced. The family is their main source of instrumental support, but there are many cases of unmet needs, especially if they do not have the financial means to hire professional help. There are also those who live in social isolation, the magnitude of which depends on the severity of their physical limitations. All of this combines to intensify this sense of loneliness. However, vulnerability is not something that is new to them. An analysis of their lives reveals that many have already endured it, experiencing a childhood that was severely impacted by the Spanish Civil War and the post-war period.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Juan López Doblas, María del Pilar Diaz
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Fundación Pública Andaluza Centro de Estudios Andaluces×
Grant numbers PRY186/19
