Volume 26, Issue 2 (8-2026)
Social Welfare Quarterly 2026, 26(2): 0-0 |
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Ebrahiminia S, Afshani S, Ruhani A, Torkashvand-MoradAbadi M. (2026). The Formation Process of Begging among Older Adults in Tehran. Social Welfare Quarterly. 26(2), : 1
URL: http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-4484-en.html
URL: http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-4484-en.html
Abstract: (1105 Views)
Introduction: The growing population of older adults, driven by increased life expectancy and declining fertility rates, has created new economic and social challenges. The primary aim of the present study was to identify and understand how begging emerges among older adults in Tehran.
Method: This study employed a grounded theory approach and purposive sampling with a theoretical sampling strategy. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 older adults engaged in begging until theoretical saturation was reached. Research rigor was ensured through prolonged engagement, persistent observation, peer debriefing, member checking, and detailed documentation.
Findings: Data analysis led to the construction of a core category entitled “Eroded Capitals: The Roots of Begging.” Causal conditions, including poverty and economic instability, informal employment, the erosion of economic, social, and cultural capital, family crisis and exclusion, illness, and the lack of housing and social support, contributed to the formation of a poverty and deprivation trap among older adults within the broader structural and social context of the Tehran metropolis. In response to these conditions, older adults resorted to strategies such as begging, informal employment, reliance on charitable assistance, and mobilization of supportive networks.
Discussion: Old age in contemporary Iran, in its confrontation and interaction with macro-level forces (the economy and the state) and meso-level forces (the family), has increasingly become a condition of acute precarity and necessity. Improving the quality of life of older adults requires the revitalization of eroded forms of capital, the strengthening of structural support systems, the restoration of family ties, and the development of sustainable welfare policies.
Method: This study employed a grounded theory approach and purposive sampling with a theoretical sampling strategy. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 older adults engaged in begging until theoretical saturation was reached. Research rigor was ensured through prolonged engagement, persistent observation, peer debriefing, member checking, and detailed documentation.
Findings: Data analysis led to the construction of a core category entitled “Eroded Capitals: The Roots of Begging.” Causal conditions, including poverty and economic instability, informal employment, the erosion of economic, social, and cultural capital, family crisis and exclusion, illness, and the lack of housing and social support, contributed to the formation of a poverty and deprivation trap among older adults within the broader structural and social context of the Tehran metropolis. In response to these conditions, older adults resorted to strategies such as begging, informal employment, reliance on charitable assistance, and mobilization of supportive networks.
Discussion: Old age in contemporary Iran, in its confrontation and interaction with macro-level forces (the economy and the state) and meso-level forces (the family), has increasingly become a condition of acute precarity and necessity. Improving the quality of life of older adults requires the revitalization of eroded forms of capital, the strengthening of structural support systems, the restoration of family ties, and the development of sustainable welfare policies.
Article number: 1
Type of Study: orginal |
Received: 2025/06/14 | Accepted: 2026/02/3 | Published: 2026/08/31
Received: 2025/06/14 | Accepted: 2026/02/3 | Published: 2026/08/31
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