The global population is ageing at an accelerated rate and older people are more likely to face existential isolation and existential loneliness. In China, the country with the world's largest elderly population, few studies have examined the experiences of existential isolation and existential loneliness faced by Chinese older people and most studies on these existential challenges conducted in the West fail to consider potential important cultural differences.
This study intends to use a mixed-methods design, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, to explore whether older people in mainland China and older people of Chinese origin living in Belgium experience existential isolation and existential loneliness, and how these experiences relate to depressive symptoms. Based on this, a cross-cultural study will be conducted to compare the experiences of existential isolation and existential loneliness among older Chinese living in China, older Chinese living in Belgium, and older Belgians, and to explore the role played by culture, particularly self-construal.