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Aging Out of Place: Cambodian Refugee Elders in the United States
Author(s) -
Lewis Denise C.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
family and consumer sciences research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.372
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1552-3934
pISSN - 1077-727X
DOI - 10.1177/1077727x08330684
Subject(s) - refugee , immigration , autonomy , aging in place , salience (neuroscience) , coping (psychology) , gerontology , independence (probability theory) , gender studies , psychology , sociology , social psychology , medicine , political science , clinical psychology , statistics , mathematics , law , cognitive psychology
Experiences of aging refugees or immigrants are significantly different from elders who have not experienced international migration. Eighty‐nine interviews with 38 elderly Cambodian refugees were conducted to understand their aging experiences in the United States. This paper explores multiple meanings of aging in place that go beyond the ability to remain in one's preferred geographic location, maintenance of independence and autonomy, and attachment and meanings assigned to place. Of the components normally used in defining aging in place, meaning making had the most salience for this group of elders. One's sense of place, whether such “place” is defined geographically, socially, or culturally, often created challenges for these elders. This group exhibits different forms of coping and require different services than non‐refugee elders. An infrastructure that supports aging refugees or immigrants must include a remarkably different set of parameters than one designed to support native‐born elders.