Women, Health and Aging: Building a Statewide Movement

Provides an overview of current policy and program environments that affect the state's most vulnerable elder population, and considers some effective strategies to address the growing needs of older persons in California

Three Essays on Mexico-U.S. Migration

Migration flow between Mexico and the United States is historically the largest South-North international population movement in the world. Nowadays, Mexicans in the United States are more than 12 million people and represent about a third of all Hispanics living in this country. Not only Mexicans are a voluminous group, but also a large minority with strong ties with their communities of origin, important amounts of remittances, and more recently, high rates of return migration. Their transnational behaviors and the changes in their situation in the United States posit several research questions in the area of migrant incorporation. In this dissertation, I explore three salient topics in the new agenda of the migrant incorporation research. I use diverse data sources from Mexico and the United Sates, and a comprehensive set of analytic strategies that include qualitative and quantitative methods. Frist, I pay attention to the consequences of migration enforcement laws and economic crisis on the labor market incorporation of Mexican return migrants in the decade of the 2000s. Specially, I focus on the extent to which these migrants have been absorbed into the precarious areas of the informal economy. Second, I analyze the mental health of Mexican immigrants in Durham, NC, in comparison to their Mexican counterparts in their places of origin. I look at the changes in the associations of depression feelings with protective and risk factors upon migration. Then, I analyze the role of migration-related characteristics, such as legal status, family separation and English proficiency, among others. With this analysis, I seek to understand how different theories explain the mental health disadvantage of immigrants. Finally, I describe the gendered links between transnational family dynamics and support modes to the elderly. Overall, from these three chapters I conclude that migrants in both, sending and receiving societies, are currently facing strong challenges to incorporate upon their movement. Financial constraints, precarious labor conditions, family separation, and depression feelings are some of the many situations impeding migrants to experience smooth migration transitions and difficult their subsequent social incorporation

Consejos as a Family Process in Transnational and Mixed-Status Mayan Families

This article describes a constructivist grounded theory study about cross-border relationships within Mayan families divided between the United States and Guatemala. Nine families participated, and each included a U.S.-based undocumented migrant parent and a Guatemala-based adolescent and caregiver. Findings pertaining to the family process of consejos—defined as a communication practice in Latino families wherein older family members pass on conventional wisdom to younger family members—are discussed. Although consejos has been identified as an important cultural practice in Latino families, it has rarely been examined in Mayan families or explored as an important aspect of transnational family relationships. Findings suggest that for some transnational and mixed-status Mayan families, consejos has become an important family process and a way in which migrant parents maintain a presence in their children\u27s lives despite being physically separated. Implications for future research with transnational migrant families, and Mayan families in particular, are discussed

America's Hispanic Children: Gaining Ground, Looking Forward

The purpose of the study was to "widen the lens" by highlighting the positive trends among Hispanic youth. More young Latino children are enrolling in center-based care programs which are more likely to be of a higher educational quality than home-based care and other alternatives. Other highlights include Latino students posting solid gains on national assessments in key subject areas, more Latinos than ever before earning a high school diploma, and a record number of Hispanics enrolling in two- or four-year colleges. A greater sense of responsibility among Latino youth was also revealed in the study, indicated by falling teen pregnancy rates -- declines have been greater in the last four years for Latinas than other ethnic groups -- and a decrease in smoking and binge drinking habits among high school seniors. Latino teens' use of technology is also promising. While less likely to own a cell phone than their peers, they are avid users of smartphones and tablets. The Pew Research Center Hispanic Trends Project reported Hispanics are the only group to see poverty rates decline and incomes increase, but despite these gains, Hispanics have the largest number of people living in poverty when compared with other minority groups. "Nearly one-third of Latino children live below the poverty line, and a roughly equal share, while not poor by official definition, has family incomes just adequate to meet basic needs," the Child Trends study states

iTVCare: A home care system for the elderly through interactive television

In the world, many older adults are living alone for most of the day. This work propose the use of the television set, a medium well known by seniors, to improve the way that seniors and their caregivers can track daily activities such as medication intakes reminders. Two evaluations were held, a heuristic usability assessment early on the design process and an evaluation of the technology adoption. Both evaluations generated initial evidence that the system supported elders in achieving a better quality of life

Negotiating Elder Care in a Transnational Context: Taiwanese Families and Vietnamese Migrant Workers

As one of the most rapidly aging nations in the world, Taiwan is experiencing a growing demand for elder care labour. Limited state-funded care services combine with an ever-increasing number of dependent elderly members, to create a crisis of care that continues to be managed primarily by families. Although this is a culture where sons bear the primary filial responsibility in a patrilineal structure of filial care, daughters-in-law are often expected to provide significant levels of care to their parents-in-law when they require assistance. Women’s increased participation in the workforce since the 1980s, however, poses an additional challenge to families who are now trying to meet the competing demands of paid work and elder care. A growing number of families now seek care assistance by employing a foreign live-in care worker, an alternative that creates employment opportunities – with attendant costs – for women from less developed economies seeking to support their families. When working abroad as care workers, migrant women and their families also experience contradictory demands of meeting the economic and care needs of family members. This thesis takes a multi-level approach that incorporates e life course, gender, class and transnational perspectives, and the concept of ambivalence to investigate a ‘dual’ family reality: how do Taiwanese families with dependent elders and Vietnamese foreign care workers and their families negotiate care arrangements and kinship ties when trying to meet the needs of family members, often in combination with paid work? Based on an ethnographic study in Taiwan from May to August 2009 and from November 2010 to April 2011, findings from intensive interviews with Taiwanese family members and Vietnamese care workers reveal multiple contexts of care negotiations. In Taiwan, sons, their wives (daughters-in-law to the elder) and their brothers and sisters work out their share of filial responsibility in the household and family context. When Taiwanese families employ Vietnamese care workers, the Taiwanese employers, their elder family members and extended family negotiate good care and a stable working relationship with their Vietnamese care workers in the context of domestic employment. Despite their physical absence, the Vietnamese women who are hired as care workers continue to work out multiple family care responsibilities as mothers, wives, daughters or daughters-in-law from afar.This thesis reveals the phenomenon of the global care chains as an outcome of negotiating contradictory work, care and kinship ties in both Taiwanese and Vietnamese families over time. Cultural norms, class differences, changing gender relations, state policies, market forces, regional economic inequalities and labour migration provide relevant contexts for understanding how global care chains produce both continuity and change in the lives of family members in both geographical and transnational contexts

Ageing and Long-Term Care Planning Perceptions of Hispanics in the USA: Evidence from a Case Study in New London, Connecticut

This paper explores the ageing attitudes and long-term care planning behavior of adult Hispanics in New London, Connecticut, a town with 30 thousand inhabitants that is rapidly ageing. We conducted six focus groups and had 37 participants share their ageing perceptions and long-term care needs. Our main findings suggest that informal care arrangements are vulnerable and unsustainable especially since women have historically and disproportionately provided most family eldercare even at their own personal and financial expense. Though male participants expected their female relatives to care for them when they age and need personal assistance, female participants did not necessarily expect the same from their relatives including their daughters. Also, both formal and government long-term care systems lack cultural competence and can be prohibitively costly. Therefore, Hispanics plan for ageing within their circles of family care and their resilience in a context of cultural exclusion and socio-economic disadvantage epitomizes strong intergenerational values. These support networks may help explain why may outlive whites (the Hispanic paradox ) who, on average, have higher wealth and education levels. Long-term care planning is a complex process that cannot be relayed to families only. Adequate training for family members from other relatives, and from private and government entities to appropriately convey this type of planning is vital to ensure that Hispanic families understand their options

Social Networks of Older Immigrants in Phoenix, Arizona

abstract: This dissertation explored how immigrants cope with and thrive in old age by utilizing social networks, and the hindrances which may prevent this. Through ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews at two senior centers in Phoenix, Arizona with a high concentration of an ethnic minority group - Asian and Latino, I describe what makes the Asian dominant center more resource abundant than its Latino counterpart given prevalent tight public funding. Both centers have a large number of seniors disenfranchised from mainstream institutions who bond together via similar experiences resulting from shared countries/regions of origin, language, and migration experience. The Asian center, however, is more successful in generating and circulating resources through "bonding" and "bridging" older immigrants who, therefore benefit more from their center affiliation than the Latinos at their center. The abundance of resources at the Asian center flowing to the social networks of seniors are attributed to three factors: work and volunteer engagement and history, the organization of the center, and individual activities. At both centers seniors bond with each other due to shared ethnicity, language, and migration experience and share information and companionship in the language in which they feel most comfortable. What differentiated the two centers were the presence of several people well connected to individuals, groups, and institutions beyond the affiliated center. The presence of these "bridges" were critical when the centers were faced with budgetary constraints and Arizona was experiencing the effect of ongoing immigration policies. These "bridges" tend to come from shared ethnicity, and better social positions due to cumulative factors which include but are not limited to higher education, professional occupation, and work and volunteer history. I have also presented cases of individuals who, although have developed expertise from past work experiences and individual activities, have limited contribution to the resource flow because of the differences in ethnicity. The study also explored a gendered life course and its impact on the social network for older Asian and Latino immigrants.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Sociology 201

Perceptions and practices of parenting among Nigerian immigrant fathers in Portugal

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions and practices of parenting among Nigerian immigrant fathers in Portugal, what cultural values they transmit to their children and how easy or difficult is it for Nigerian immigrant fathers to practice parenting. The aim was to understand if migrating to a new country with different culture and values brings changes in the way parenting is perceived and practiced by Nigerian immigrant fathers. This was a qualitative study among 6 fathers with children born here or who brought them to Portugal. This study fills the gap on migration from a specific African country, Nigeria, into a European country, Portugal, with insights on their experiences. The data was collected through in-depth individual interviews which were conducted in English with the aid of open-ended, semi structured questions. The research found out that Nigerian immigrant fathers perceived parenting as being the head of the family and provider. The research also found out that the Nigerian immigrant father’s parenting style could not be incorporated into a single parenting style as suggested by Baumrind (1967), since it constituted of components of both the authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles. I also found that parenting for Nigerian immigrant fathers in Portugal was affected by native culture, children's reactions, Portuguese laws and norms and social support systems