ABSTRACT
Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the U.S. but they have been overlooked in studies of successful aging. This study used a multi-method approach with an open-ended question and Phelan et al.'s (Journal of American Geriatrics Society 52:211-216, 2004) Successful Aging Measure to determine whether the quantitative measure fully captured perceptions of successful aging of 60 older Latinos living in three Western states. Then, the findings were compared with other studies that had used the measure with Anglo, Japanese, Japanese-American, and Latin American samples. The results revealed that Latinos and Latin Americans responses are very similar to each other, and somewhat different from other cultural groups. Latinos focus on maintaining a positive outlook, living in the present, enjoying a sense of community, and relying on spirituality and family for comfort and meaning as they age, but they also worry about finances. There are several components of this study that professionals can use to guide their practice, including a summary of methodological challenges and ongoing conceptual debates in the successful aging literature.
Subject(s)
Aging/ethnology , Aging/psychology , Attitude to Health/ethnology , Cross-Cultural Comparison , Hispanic or Latino/psychology , Activities of Daily Living/psychology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Family/ethnology , Female , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Leisure Activities/psychology , Male , Middle Aged , Personal Satisfaction , Qualitative Research , Quality of Life/psychology , Social Support , Socioeconomic Factors , Spirituality , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Psychiatrists and advocates for persons with mental illness in the USA argue that the biomedical model of mental illness as a brain disease is both accurate and effective in reducing stigma. Few studies have queried individuals diagnosed with mental illness to determine the extent to which they define their condition as biologically based versus caused by social and psychological factors. METHOD: Fifty inpatients in a behavioral health unit of a non-profit hospital in Western USA were interviewed in depth regarding their perceptions of the nature and causes of the condition that brought them into the hospital. RESULTS: The vast majority of patients, regardless of diagnosis, emphasized painful life experiences brought about by others and outside their own control as the primary cause of their mental illness. CONCLUSIONS: The biomedical model of mental illness does not necessarily dominate the minds of people with mental illness; therefore mental health practitioners should understand and respect their patients' explanatory models in order to enlist their trust and compliance.
