Grant: Summer Program in Aging

In 2016, immigrants represented 31% of the total senior population over 65 in Canada. Lebanese people constitute the largest sub-group of Arabic-speaking peoples, and as of 2001, they were the sixth-largest non-European ethnic group. The family is the central unit in Lebanese society and is therefore fundamental for creating social connectedness among Lebanese older adults in Canada. However, two decades of war, sporadic bouts of violence, and political and economic instability in Lebanon have instilled a sense of fear, anxiety, and insecurity in the Lebanese people, which shape their aging process both at home and in the diaspora. As such, unlike their Canadian-born counterparts, Lebanese immigrants grow old while navigating an intersecting web of cultural and psychosocial circumstances that impose various stressors on themselves and their family caregivers. I will investigate how universalized western ideas of "healthy active aging" suit the Lebanese Canadian community. I will draw attention to promising practices that can inform age-friendly initiatives to address meaning, belonging, and inclusiveness. I will explore the dynamic processes of immigration, aging, age-related cultural transitions, how social contexts shape aging, cultural meanings, and how time and place shape the aging process among Lebanese Canadian older adults. Additionally, I will explicitly investigate how trauma connects to the aging process and influences the development of meaning and connectedness among Lebanese Canadian older adults. I will conduct interviews with older adults to gauge their conception of aging and how their traumatic experience influence their worldview and construction of meaning. Surveys of program staff, users and family caregivers will be conducted at Lebanese community organizations that provide social supports and services for older adults.