Association between Sense of Belonging and Loneliness among the Migrant Elderly Following Children in Jinan, Shandong Province, China: The Moderating Effect of Migration Pattern

Background: Driven by accelerating population aging and migration, the number of older migrants has increased rapidly in China. Those who moved to cities to look after grandchildren were referred to as the migrant elderly following children (MEFC). This study aims to examine the relationship between sense of belonging and loneliness and explore the moderating effect of migration pattern among the MEFC in China. Methods: The study included 656 MEFC aged 60 years and above. Loneliness was evaluated by the eight-item University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (ULS-8). Sense of belonging and migration pattern were measured using a self-designed questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to test the proposed association and moderating effect. A margins plot was introduced to illustrate this effect. Results: The average ULS-8 score was 12.82 ± 4.05, revealing a low level of loneliness. A weak sense of belonging was related with a higher level of loneliness (β = 0.096, p = 0.014). Migration pattern was found to exacerbate this association (β = 0.138, p = 0.026), especially for the elderly who migrated across provinces. Conclusions: Sense of belonging was correlated with loneliness, and the moderating role of migration pattern was established. Both policymakers and the adult children of inter-provincial migrant elderly should focus on this special subgroup.