Suchergebnisse

In the transition to democracy and a market economy, the Central and Eastern European countries experienced rapid and fundamental changes. Large-scale emigration flows and pronounced reductions in previously universal welfare systems increased the phenomenon of 'left behind' older adults. We examine this phenomenon in the case of Poland, a rather family-oriented society which in recent years sent most emigrants to Western Europe in absolute terms. Employing a support system framework and representative survey data, we enquire into older adults' support patterns. Our results suggest that older adults in Poland rely predominantly on family support, although this varies greatly across living arrangements. We also find a positive association between distance separating parents and their closest child, and support from at least one non-kin. Yet, our findings reveal differences between practical and emotional support, with the latter being more likely to be provided by non-kin, but with distance mattering to a lesser degree. Parents with very distant child(ren) are few and differ only from parents with very proximate child(ren), a finding prompting the question as to what is the difference between being 'left behind' by international and by internal migration. We conclude that the phenomenon of 'left behind' in Poland, at least in terms of support, is less a matter of children's migration and more an issue of household and regional context.

Background of the survey The release of formal restrictions on the free movement of Central and Eastern Europeans that started with the end of the Cold War and the eastward enlargement of the European Union in the 2000s have led to new migration flows in Europe. Not surprisingly, the number of surveys carried out among migrants from former communist countries has increased significantly in recent years. These surveys, however, tend to focus on topics such as migration and job history, structural and socio-cultural integration in the host country, bonds with the country of origin or family formation and intermarriage. Insofar exchanges with family members are addressed, they tend to be about remittances to and frequency of contact with "the" family in the country that stayed behind. Information about migrants from Central and Eastern Europe regarding exchanges of money, practical support, emotional support with individual family members, background information on the family of origin, espoused family obligations, and marital and parenthood histories and well-being is scarce. The FPN survey was carried out to fill that void. In absolute terms, Poles are the largest group amongst emigrants from the Central and Eastern European countries which accessed the European Union in 2004. Estimates suggest that between 2004 and 2007, at least one million people emigrated from Poland. Among the top destination countries of Poles in Europe are Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the annual number of Polish migrants currently entering the country is greater than the number of traditional migrant groups (Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans and Surinamese) taken together. There are more than 160,000 Poles in the Netherlands according to Statistics Netherlands.