The Aged in Hispanic Groups: A Review

Abstract

This study presents an inventory of social science published reports about the elderly in Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban subnationalities in the United States. A review of this literature indicates that Cuban and Puerto Rican elderly have been disregarded by gerontologists interested in the study of ethnic groups. Available information on service availability and utilization and extended family support, as well as methodological and theoretical problems in this area of investigation, are assessed. The study concludes with a call for greater attention to matters of ethnic population density and ecology for understanding the life experiences of the ethnic elderly.