Centre for Policy on Ageing



A household survey of older Iu-Mien refugees in rural California
Author(s)	Judith C Barker, Kaochoy Saechao
Journal title	Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, vol 12, no 2, June 1997
Pages	pp 121-143
Keywords	Refugees ; Ethnic groups ; Immigration ; Social roles ; Adjustment ; United States of America.
Annotation	There is a paucity of information on the distinct named cultural groups that migrated from Southeast Asia to the United States (US) in recent years, especially on older people. The older members of one specific group, Iu-Mien refugees primarily from the highlands of Laos, are discussed in this article through a review of available information about the traditional roles of older people and adjustment to life in the US, and through a household survey of one community of Iu-Mien in Merced, California. Findings showed that older people comprise 7% of the Iu-Mien community. The large households remain traditional in composition with many older men acting as patriarchs to several generations of lineal kin. Women, who are usually widows, tend to live with families of sons or sons-in-law. Intergenerational disaffection has been reported in the literature, which may be partly due to the status losses by older people and role reversals so common among refugees. (AKM).
Accession Number	CPA-980724408 A
Classmark	TIA: TK: TNP: TM5: DR: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.