Migration, Stretched Households and the Loneliness of Older Adults in South Africa

ABSTRACT This study contributes to the literature on out‐migration and the social connectedness of older adults who remain “left behind”. It investigates the loneliness reports of older African adults in the South African context, where out‐migrants are reported as retaining membership in their household of origin. An analysis of household survey data collected in the National Income Dynamics Study shows that between 2008 and 2017, almost 30% of older ( ≥ 60 years) African adults in South Africa lived in a household that was “stretched” (it included at least one household member not physically resident in the household). At the unconditional mean, older adults in these households are significantly less likely than other older African adults to report feeling lonely. This relationship exists independently of whether the older person's household receives private transfers (including remittance income). A series of ordered probit regressions shows that lower loneliness reports derive from sizeable differences in household characteristics. In comparison to older African adults in other households, those in stretched households are far more likely to live with children and working‐age adults. These characteristics are significant protectors of the loneliness of older adults, and once they are accounted for, there is no further association between living in a stretched household and the loneliness of older adults.