The Social Exclusion of the Elderly: A Mixed-Methods Study in Slovenia

• Authors: Maša Filipovič Hrast , Valentina Hlebec , Matic Kavčič
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The elderly are in many ways more vulnerable than other groups in society. To research the vulnerabilities of the elderly, this article works with the concept of social exclusion. It analyses social exclusion using a mixed-method model drawing on secondary quantitative data combined with in-depth interviews. The quantitative data were used to identify which areas of social exclusion particularly affect older people in Slovenia. The areas observed in the study were material deprivation, spatial exclusion, poor health and access to health care, housing exclusion and interpersonal exclusion, and the first three areas were identifi ed as the most problematic and widespread. The strategies the elderly use to cope with social exclusion were analysed using qualitative data and the grounded theory approach. In all areas various coping strategies were observed that indicate that the elderly are actively trying to improve their situation. It also seems that similar strategies are employed in different areas of social exclusion, the most important of them being strategies based on individuals’ capacities and social networks.

Keywords

EN

social exclusion; mixed methods; coping strategies; secondary data; the elderly; Slovenia

Discipline

• SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY

• Publisher: Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Sociologický časopis. Czech Sociological Review
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 48
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1051–1074

Contributors

author

Maša Filipovič Hrast

author

Valentina Hlebec

author

Matic Kavčič

• Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Kardeljeva Ploščad 16, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia