ATTITUDES ABOUT AGING AND THE AGED IN MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES.
Contributors: University of California, Berkeley.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 423
Subjects: Health Sciences, Public Health.; Gerontology.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The specific aim of this dissertation was to analyze attitudes about one's aging and the aged cross-culturally. The two countries of interest were Mexico and the United States. In order to gain a fuller understanding of the phenomenon, multiple research methods were utilized. Methods employed included survey and in-depth interviewing. Ongoing observations and experiences related to the elderly in both countries were incorporated into the study.

The survey part of the dissertation included a questionnaire with 200 varied items which were related to attitudes about the elderly. The sample size for the American group was 201 and for the Mexican group 194. The overall hypothesis was that the Mexican group would have a more positive attitude about aging than the American group. The survey data failed to support the hypothesis which was derived from Modernization Theory. In fact, the American sample reflected more positive attitudes about aging than the Mexican sample. An attempt to reconcile these findings was done by extending some of the concepts of Modernization Theory to postmodernized societies such as the United States.

The qualitative part of the dissertation consisted of in-depth interviews for a sample size of 32 for the Americans and a sample size of 34 for the Mexicans. The responses were analyzed by using a paradigm set forth by Anselm Strauss and a modified grounded-theory approach was used. The data fell into three major categories for each sample group and were analyzed accordingly. They include the physical, psychological and sociocultural aspects of aging. Some of the results showed the American sample focused more on physical appearances than the Mexicans. The Mexicans were more concerned with having sufficient energy levels and being able to work. Universals such as loneliness and feelings of abandonment were identified in both groups. Family support, a strength in both groups, takes on very different forms. In the United States, the emphasis is on psychological support. In Mexico it's an all encompassing expectation.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-05, Section: B, page: 2310.

Thesis (DR.P.H.)--UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, 1989.

School code: 0028.