In my house, for as long as I can

Among the changes in the new elderliness, to which we referred to before, there is one that seems to have more difficulties in assimilation than the others: the independence of the seniors. More specifically, and among all the relevant aspects that are to be dealt with when it comes to the topic of independence in the old age, I want to point out the residential independence. I remember when during a working seminar in the UK one of the British speakers claimed that the residential situation of the elderly people in Spain is not a problem, as “everybody knows that in Spain seniors live with their families”. Recently in a seminar in Harvard this belief was applied to the whole Europe: “in Europe the elderly people live with their families”. I want to express that this is not true, but it is a similar case to the one with pineapple pizza that I quoted in another post. Rooting out beliefs is hard.

In Spain we realise that our international colleagues’ claims do not reflect the reality, even though we are, without a doubt, more familiar than other countries and, comparatively, we show an increased trend of intergenerational coexistence. However, this reality can be explained with various matters (economical, related to the residential situation and, of course, social). Nevertheless, data shows a decrease of numbers of intergenerational homes in the last few years. A profound analysis of intergenerational homes in which there are people aged 65 and more shows that they are usually the head of the household: us Spaniards tend to move out of our homes late and usually it does not end very well, so at times we go back not only to visit. We will discuss it on another occasion.

Apart from the comparison between countries (which is another possible topic to discuss in the future), our international colleagues’ statements deny a certain capacity of choice and action of older people. Again, the heterogeneity that defines the elderliness is eliminated, assuming that every senior citizen wants to live with their children. These claims refer to one way of household organisation (that can be more or less efficient depending on any potential need of nursing and care). Yet they assume directly that either every older person wants to live with their children or that their wishes do not matter: whether you want it or not, you live with your children. Other sources (not only in the scientific literature; even the yellow press shows this idea from time to time) suggest that the decrease of the number of intergenerational households is a result of the children’s presumed indifference. Without delving into this issue, should we assume that this is a result of the children’s decision in which those aged 65 or more have nothing to say? In other words, do all elderly people want to live with their children and grandchildren?

The data and investigation about the topic say otherwise. When the seniors are asked about this topic, they show interest in staying in their homes. This happens not only in Spain, but also on the international level. Even though this data is a bit old (how valuable and needed are the surveys to know the reality we live in), the Survey about Life Conditions of the Elderly People (2010) shows us that the majority of older people want to live in their own homes, even if they are alone. 87,27% of the population aged 65 or more prefers, among other options, to live in their homes. It is true that the answers vary depending on the sex of the participant (this option is chosen more frequently among women). Of course the chosen answer may be different when problems with dependence and daily nursing necessity appear but as we’ve already seen, we should stop assuming that elderliness and dependence are synonyms.

Answers to the question “Regardless where you are living now, where would you prefer to live?”:

Source: own chart based on microdata ECVPM IMSERSO 2010.

Before considering whether their wants would change in case of appearance of possible difficulties in their everyday life activities, we should think about the difference between what people say (how they want to live) and where do they settle in the end. Not always the expressed desires are reflected in their life choices. The population and residence censuses (that give us information on how and with whom do we live, among other variables) show that their wants and their final choices meet: the elderly people live mostly at homes (in 2011 only 3.57% of the population aged 65 and over stayed in a group establishment). Moreover, they tend to live without their children: 73% of those aged 65 or more reside alone or with their partners. This is, without a doubt, a topic with many more aspects to discuss. Above all, we need to realise that a decrease in the number of intergenerational homes is not a unilateral decision of the children: older people live longer, in better health conditions and want to remain independent as long as possible. It is one of the demonstrations of the change regarding the elderliness. Lastly, I cannot help remembering the interviews with elderly people in which they expressed their necessity of staying independent and living alone. One lady told me laughing that her son would always leave and come back (those temporary emancipations, more and more typical in Spain). She said: “when he leaves, I miss him a lot. But well, the truth is I really like missing him”.