Correlates of psychological distress among Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican elders living in the USA

Abstract

Little is known about the impact of coping resources and health-related and family stresses on the well-being of Hispanic elders, or the extent to which these factors operate differentially for various Hispanic nationality groups. The present study examined the correlates of psychological distress of three groups of Hispanic elders. The researcher analyzed the Mexican American (n = 773) Cuban American (n = 714), and Puerto Rican (n = 368) elderly individuals drawn from the 1988 National Survey of Hispanic Elderly People in the USA. Multivariate analyses results indicated that activities of daily living impairments, poor perceived health, and unmet needs in formal social service were common predictors of psychological distress for all three groups. Older Mexican American women and Puerto Rican women reported higher levels of psychological distress than their male counterparts, other things being equal. For Cuban American elders, fear of depending too much on others, conflicts in the family, and living alone were unique predictors of their psychological distress. jg]Key words gw]Stress gw]Coping gw]Psychological well-being gw]Mexican Americans gw]Cuban Americans gw]Puerto Rican Americans gw]USA.