Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T22:35:25.417Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Stress, Coping, and Well-being in Anglo and Chinese Elderly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Paul T.P. Wong
Affiliation:
Trent University
Gary T. Reker
Affiliation:
Trent University

Abstract

Stress, perceived well-being, and coping behaviours were studied comparing a sample of aging Chinese immigrants with Anglos. The Chinese sample found growing old a more stressful experience, reported lower psychological well-being, depended more heavily on external and palliative coping strategies, and felt less effective in coping as compared to the Anglo counterparts. The finding supported the double jeopardy hypothesis of ethnic minority aging.

Résumé

Une population d'immigrés chinois âgés et une population d'origine anglo-saxonne ont fait l'objet d'une étude comparative concernant le stress, la perception du bien-être, et les comportements d'accommodation. Le vieillissement se présente comme plus difficile à supporter, le sentiment de satisfaction psychologique est moins élevé, la dépendance à l'égard des mesures palliatives externes est plus marquée, et le sentiment d'efficacité personnelle est moins grand chez les chinois que chez les anglo-saxons. Ces résultats appuient l'hypothèse selon laquelle le vieillissement est plus difficile à vivre chez les groupes minoritaires.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Antunes, G., Gordon, C., Gaitz, C.M., & Scott, J. (1974). Ethnicity, socioeconomic status and etiology of psychological distress. Sociology and Social Research, 58, 361368.Google Scholar
Begin, M. (1982). Canadian Government Report on Aging. Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa, Ontario, June.Google Scholar
Bell, D., Kasschau, P., & Zellman, G. (1976). Delivering semces to elderly members of minority groups: A critical review of the literature. Report prepared for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Human Development, Washington, USA, April.Google Scholar
Bond, M., & Wang, S. (1982). Aggressive behaviour in Chinese society: The problem of maintaining order and harmony. Bulletin of the Hong Kong Psychological Society, 8, 525.Google Scholar
Cantor, M.H. (1979). The informal support system of New York's inner city elderly: Is ethnicity a factor? In Gelfand, D.E. & Kutzik, A.J. (Eds.), Ethnicity and aging (pp. 153174). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Chan, K.B. (1983). Coping with aging and managing self-identity: The social world of the elderly Chinese woman. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 75, 3650.Google Scholar
Cheng, E. (1978). The Elder Chinese. San Diego: Campanille Press.Google Scholar
Culbertson, F.M., & Margaona, E.A. (1982). A study of attitudes and values towards the aged: A cross-cultural comparison. International Psychologist, 23, 1720.Google Scholar
Doi, L.T. (1981). The anatomy of dependence. New York: Kodanaka International Ltd.Google Scholar
Dowd, J.J., & Bengston, V.L. (1978). Aging in minority populations: An examination of the double jeopardy hypothesis. Journal of Gerontology, 55(3), 427436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fairbank, J.K., Reischauer, E.O., & Craig, A.M. (1965). East Asia- The modern transformation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 21, 219239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fujii, S.M. (1976). Older Asian Americans: Victims of multiple jeopardy. Civil Rights Digest, 9, 2229.Google Scholar
Gerber, L.M. (1983). Ethnicity still matters: Sociodemographic profiles of the ethnic elderly in Ontario. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 14, 6080.Google Scholar
Havens, B., & Chappell, N.L. (1983). Triple jeopardy: Age, sex, and ethnicity. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 15, 119132.Google Scholar
Hendricks, J., & Hendricks, C.D. (1981). Aging in mass society: Myths and realities. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Winthrop.Google Scholar
Holzberg, C.S. (1981). Cultural gerontology: Towards an understanding of ethnicity and aging. Culture, 1, 110122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ikels, C. (1983). Aging and adaptation: Chinese Hong Kong and the United States. Hamden, CT: The Shoe String Press.Google Scholar
Jackson, J.J. (1980). Minorities and aging. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishers.Google Scholar
Jarvie, I.C., & Agassi, J. (Ed.). (1969). Hong Kong: A society in transition. London: Routhedge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Kalish, R. A., & Yuen, S. (1971). Americans of East Asian ancestry: Aging and the aged. The Gerontologist, Spring, 3647.Google Scholar
Kalish, R.A., & Moriwaki, S. (1973). The world of elderly Asian Americans. Journal of Social Issues, 29(2), 187209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manuel, R.C. (Ed.). (1982). Minority aging: Sociological and social psychological issues. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Markides, K.S. (1983). Minority aging. In Riley, M.W., Hess, B.B., & Bond, K. (Eds.). Aging in society: Selected reviews of recent research (pp. 115137). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers.Google Scholar
Marshall, V.M. (Ed) (1980). Aging in Canada: Social perspectives. Don Mills, ON: Fitzberry & Whiteside.Google Scholar
McNeely, R.L., Cohen, J.L. (Eds.). (1983). Aging in minority groups. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
McPherson, B.D. (1983). Aging as a social process. Scarborough: Butterworth.Google Scholar
Moritsugu, J., & Sue, S. (1980). Minority status as stressor. In Felner, R.D., Jason, L.A., Moritsugu, J.N., & Farber, S.S. (Eds.), Preventive psychology: Theory, research and practice. New York: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Neki, J.S. (1976). An examination of the cultural relativism of dependence as a dynamic of social and therapeutic relationships. The British Journal of Medical Psychology, 49, 122.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reker, G.T., & Wong, P.T.P. (1984). Psychological and physical well-being of the elderly: The Perceived Weil-Being Scale. Canadian Journal on Aging, 3(1), 2331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, C.J. (1983). Aging, ethnicity and the family: Beyond the modernization thesis. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 15, 116.Google Scholar
Schermerhorn, A. (1970). Comparative ethnic relations: A framework for theory and research. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Seelback, W.C., & Sauer, W.J. (1977). Filial responsibility expectations and morale among aged parents. Gerontologist, 17, 492499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solomon, R.H. (1971). Mao's revolution and the Chinese political culture. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Strong, C. (1984). Stress and caring for elderly relatives: Interpretations and coping strategies in an American Indian and White sample. The Gerontologist, 24, 251255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sue, S., & Morishima, J.K. (1982). The mental health of Asian Americans. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.Google Scholar
Tung, M. (1984). Life values, psychotherapy, and East-West integration. Psychiatry, 47, 285392.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ujimoto, V.K. (1983). Introduction: Ethnicity and aging in Canada. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 75(3), iii.Google Scholar
Wong, P.T.P., & Reker, G.T. (1984). Effective coping and health: A matching model.Presented at the Canadian Association on Gerontology Meetingin Vancouver,November.Google Scholar
Wong, P.T.P., & Sproule, C.F. (1984). An attribution analysis of the locus of control construct and the Trent Attribution Profile. In Lefcourt, H.M. (Ed.), Research with the locus of control construct- VoL 2: Methods and applications (pp. 309360). New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, F.Y.T. (1975). Mandarin-speaking aged Chinese in the Los Angeles area. The Gerontologist, 15, 271275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed