Centre for Policy on Ageing



Beyond familism? — familism as explicit motive for eldercare among Mexican American caregivers
Author(s)	Robert John, Rosalva Resensiz, Linda W De Vargas
Journal title	Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, vol 12, no 2, June 1997
Pages	pp 145-162
Keywords	Ethnic groups ; Family care ; Social roles ; Attitude ; United States of America.
Annotation	Mexican American culture is characterised by a strong value attached to the family. This study examined the views of Mexican American primary family caregivers from Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Focus group discussions revealed that although the caregivers expressed feelings of burden, their ethnic-cultural values of familism placed burden in a broader cultural context in which caregiving was also viewed as an affirmation and fulfilment of core Mexican American cultural values. Mexican American familism includes expressions of family solidarity, ethnocultural determinants of informal caregiving, distrust of culturally alien institutions (particularly nursing homes), and a desire to care for older relatives within the family context regardless of the personal cost or consequences. In contrast to recent research, these findings suggest that it is premature to dismiss familism as a continuing and central influence in the lives of Mexican American family caregivers. (AKM).
Accession Number	CPA-980724409 A
Classmark	TK: P6:SJ: TM5: DP: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.