Abstract
Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the U.S. but they have been overlooked in studies of successful aging. This study used a multi-method approach with an open-ended question and Phelan et al.’s (Journal of American Geriatrics Society 52:211–216, 2004) Successful Aging Measure to determine whether the quantitative measure fully captured perceptions of successful aging of 60 older Latinos living in three Western states. Then, the findings were compared with other studies that had used the measure with Anglo, Japanese, Japanese-American, and Latin American samples. The results revealed that Latinos and Latin Americans responses are very similar to each other, and somewhat different from other cultural groups. Latinos focus on maintaining a positive outlook, living in the present, enjoying a sense of community, and relying on spirituality and family for comfort and meaning as they age, but they also worry about finances. There are several components of this study that professionals can use to guide their practice, including a summary of methodological challenges and ongoing conceptual debates in the successful aging literature.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1990). Successful aging: perspectives from the behavioral sciences. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Bowling, A. (2007). Aspirations for older age in the 21st century: what is successful aging? International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 64(3), 263–297.
Bowling, A., & Dieppe, P. (2005). What is successful ageing and who should define it? British Medical Journal, 331, 24–31.
Bowling, A., & Iliffe, S. (2006). Which model of successful ageing should be used? Baseline findings from a British longitudinal survey of ageing. Age and Ageing, 35, 607–614.
Dillaway, H. E., & Byrnes, M. (2009). Reconsidering successful aging: a call for renewed and expanded academic critiques and conceptualizations. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 28(6), 702–722.
Estes, C. L. (2001). Social policy and aging: a critical perspective. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Fernandez-Ballesteros, R., Garcia, L. F., Abarca, D., Blanc, L., Efklides, A., Kornfeld, R., Lerma, A. J., Mendoza-Nunez, V. M., Mendoza-Ruvalcaba, N. M., Orosa, T., Constanca, P., & Patricia, S. (2008). Lay concept of aging well: cross-cultural comparisons. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 56(5), 950–952.
Gibson, R. C. (1995). Promoting successful and productive aging in minority populations. In L. A. Bond, S. J. Cutler, & A. Grams (Eds.), Promoting successful and productive aging. London: Sage.
Gines, V. (2005). Hispanic vs. Latino. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=830.
Gutheil, I. A., & Heyman, J. C. (2006). They don’t want to hear us: hispanic elders and adult children speak about end-of-life planning. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care, 2(1), 55–70.
Hayes-Bautista, D. E., & Chapa, J. (1987). Latino terminology: conceptual bases for standardized terminology. American Journal of Public Health, 77(1), 61–68.
Hilton, J. M., Kopera-Frye, K., & Krave, A. (2009). Successful aging from the perspective of family caregivers. The Family Journal, 17, 39–50.
Hoffman, R. (December/January 2006). A wave of spirituality: how our faith is transforming America. Hispanic, 44–45.
Holstein, M., & Minkler, M. (2003). Self, society and the new gerontology. Gerontologist, 43(6), 787–796.
James, J. B., Besen, E., Matz-Costa, C., & Pitt-Catsouphes, M. (2010). Engaged as we age: the end of retirement as we know it. The Sloan Center on Aging and Work, Issue Brief 24. Retrieved February 17, 2010, from http://agingandwork.bc.edu/documents/IB24_EngagedAsWeAge.pdf.
Kluckhohn, F. R., & Strodtbeck, F. L. (1961). Variations in value orientations. New York: Row, Peterson and Company.
Laditka, S. B., Corwin, S. J., Laditka, J. N., Liu, R., Tseng, W., Wu, B., Beard, R. L., Sharkey, J. R., & Ivey, S. L. (2009). Attitudes about aging well among a diverse group of older Americans: implications for promoting cognitive health. The Gerontologist, 49(S1), S30–S39.
Matsubayashi, K., Ishine, M., Wada, T., & Okumiya, K. (2006). Older adults’ view of successful aging: comparison of older Japanese and Americans. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 54(1), 184–187.
Office of Minority Health. (2010). Latino/Hispanic culture and health. Retrieved on April 25, 2010 from http://www.health.ri.gov/chic/minority/lat_cul.php#top.
Ouwehand, C., de Ridder, D. T. D., & Bensing, J. M. (2007). A review of successful aging models: proposing proactive coping as an important additional strategy. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 873–884.
Palmore, E. B. (1995). Successful aging. In G. L. Maddox (Ed.), Encyclopedia of aging: a comprehensive resource in gerontology and geriatrics (2nd ed.). New York: Springer.
Passel, J., & Cohn, D. (2008). U.S. population projections: 2005–2050. Pew Hispanic Center. Retrieved February 17, 2012 from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2008/02/11/us-population-projections-2005-2050.
Passel, J., & Taylor, P. (2009). Who’s Hispanic? Pew Hispanic Center. Retrieved April 24, 2010 from http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=111.
Phelan, E. A., Anderson, L. A., LaCroix, A. Z., & Larson, E. B. (2004). Older adults’ views of “successful aging:” how do they compare with researchers’ definitions? Journal of American Geriatrics Society, 52, 211–216.
Reichstadt, J., Depp, C. A., Palinkas, L. A., Folsom, D. P., & Jeste, D. V. (2007). Building blocks of successful aging: a focus group study of older adults’ perceived contributors to successful aging. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 15(3), 194–201.
Rowe, J., & Kahn, R. L. (1987). Human aging: usual and successful. Science, 237, 143–149.
Rowe, J., & Kahn, R. L. (1997). Successful aging. The Gerontologist, 37, 433–441.
Sadler, E., & Biggs, S. (2006). Exploring the links between spirituality and “successful ageing”. Journal of Social Work Practice, 20(3), 267–280.
Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Torres, S. (2002). Relational values and ideas regarding ‘successful aging’. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 33(3), 417–430.
Torres, S. (2003). A preliminary empirical test of a culturally-relevant theoretical framework for the study of successful aging. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 18, 73–91.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2007). American Community Survey Reports, The American community-Hispanics 2004. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from: http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-03.pdf
U.S. Census Bureau. (2008). An older more diverse nation by midcentury. U.S. Census Bureau News. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/012496.html
Wysocki, B. (2003, December 29). Tomorrow’s elderly fuel health-care spending and strain system. The Wall Street Journal, p. D1.
Young, Y., Frick, K. D., & Phelan, E. A. (2009). Can successful aging and chronic illness coexist in the same individual? A multidimensional concept of successful aging. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 10, 87–92.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported with grant funding from the Sanford Center for Aging at the University of Nevada, Reno, NV and a $1,000 donation from WalMart.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hilton, J.M., Gonzalez, C.A., Saleh, M. et al. Perceptions of Successful Aging among Older Latinos, in Cross-Cultural Context. J Cross Cult Gerontol 27, 183–199 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-012-9171-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-012-9171-4