1. Resiliency and Barriers to Successful Aging Among Middle-Aged Mexican Immigrants Residing in a Rural Agricultural Community.
- Author
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Ambriz E, Rojas N, Okoye OC, Calderon NM, Calderon L, Kogut K, Deardorff J, and Torres JM
- Subjects
- Humans, Female, Middle Aged, Aging psychology, Aging ethnology, United States epidemiology, United States ethnology, Healthy Aging psychology, Healthy Aging ethnology, Mexico ethnology, Agriculture, Motivation, Stress, Psychological ethnology, Stress, Psychological psychology, Adult, Resilience, Psychological, Rural Population statistics & numerical data, Emigrants and Immigrants psychology, Emigrants and Immigrants statistics & numerical data, Qualitative Research, Mexican Americans psychology, Mexican Americans statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Objectives: The Latino population is one of the largest, most diverse, and fastest-growing demographic groups in the United States. Although Latinos enjoy longer life spans and reduced mortality risk relative to non-Hispanic Whites, they have higher rates of chronic health conditions such as diabetes and dementia and live more of their older years with poor health and disability. Such inequities point to the need for this research focused on examining resiliency strategies and barriers to successful aging among various U.S. Latino subgroups., Methods: This qualitative study used thematic content analysis to examine resiliency strategies and barriers to successful aging among Mexican immigrant women (n = 40) residing in an underserved agricultural community and entering mid-life (mean = 49 years old)., Results: With regards to barriers to successful aging, 3 themes emerged: (1) stressful lifestyle in the United States compared to the participants' home countries; (2) stress from expectations at home; and (3) stress due to work and the various components around work. The following 4 resiliency strategies emerged: (1) family as a motivation for moving forward in life and focusing on the success of children; (2) having a positive mindset; (3) praying to God for strength to overcome obstacles; and (4) self-care., Discussion: Despite experiencing barriers to successful aging, participants practice various resiliency strategies to age successfully. Because many of the barriers identified are related to poverty-related stressors, systemic solutions addressing the social determinants of health are needed., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2024
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