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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Narratives of age and uprootedness among older Cambodian refugees | | Author(s) | Gay Becker, Yewoubdar Beyene |
| Journal title | Journal of Aging Studies, vol 13, no 3, Fall 1999 |
| Pages | pp 295-314 |
| Keywords | Refugees ; Cambodia ; Cross cultural surveys ; Social characteristics [elderly] ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Cambodian refugees' beliefs and traditions about age are examined from the perspective of the cultural life course. Drawing on a study of 39 Cambodians aged 50 to 79 in the US, the article explores the process of life reorganisation, having survived the Khmer Rouge regime and escaped from Cambodia. The narratives of these refugees illustrate how cultural transitions shape views as to who is old. Moreover, these narratives illustrate how gender roles and their loss, as well as factors that mitigate role loss, shape the experience of old age. It is concluded that: subscribing to the traditional cultural template for the Cambodian life course provides a sense of continuity in the face of disruption; and the Cambodian family, as a central social institution, serves as a vehicle for role continuity, role loss, and the management of conflict. The extended family thus continues to be a primary source of meaning as elders reorganise their lives in old age. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-991022232 A |
| Classmark | TIA: 7HH: 3KA: F: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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