The Intergenerational Representation of Old Age in the Transition to Frailty: An Empirical Analysis in Italy

Abstract

The results presented here are part of the outcome of a research project titled Redesign-Frail Elderly, Intergenerational Solidarity and Age-Friendly Communities (https://redesignanziani.com) funded by Fondazione Cariplo and coordinated by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, in collaboration with Università degli studi di Verona and Università degli studi del Molise (2019–2022). The research aims to co-acquire knowledge of the transition to old age in vulnerable situations, to develop and implement new community networks of care, and thus promote health and well-being, active ageing, and intergenerational solidarity in eight Italian municipalities. The analysis of the dyadic interviews, conducted with the NVivo software, will provide the image of ageing and old age emerging from an intergenerational dialogue. By analysing results, it will therefore be possible to identify some specific types of representation of old age in relation to the dyad, the stressful events that occurred to the interviewees and in relation to the ways of living the transition. The representation of old age seems closely connected with the quality and intensity of relationships, the environment of associative and local life that the interviewees relate to, and the stressful events that have recently occurred to them.