The Linkage Between Aging, Migration, and Resilience: Resilience in the Life of Older Turkish and Moroccan Immigrants

OBJECTIVES: Older immigrants are affected by an accumulation of adversities related to migration and aging. This study investigates resilience in older immigrants by examining the resources they use to deal with these adversities in the course of their lives. METHODS: Data from 23 life-story interviews with Turkish and Moroccan immigrants aged 60–69 years living in the Netherlands. RESULTS: The circumstances under which individuals foster resilience coincide with four postmigration life stages: settling into the host society, maintaining settlement, restructuring life postretirement, and increasing dependency. Resources that promote resilience include education in the country of origin, dealing with language barriers, having two incomes, making life meaningful, strong social and community networks, and the ability to sustain a transnational lifestyle traveling back and forth to the country of origin. More resilient individuals invest in actively improving their life conditions and are good at accepting conditions that cannot be changed. DISCUSSION: The study illustrates a link between conditions across life stages, migration, and resilience. Resilient immigrants are better able to accumulate financial and social and other resources across life stages, whereas less resilient immigrants lose access to resources in different life stages.