Reexamining the Relationships Among Dementia, Stigma, and Aging in Immigrant Chinese and Vietnamese Family Caregivers

Prior literature emphasizes that Asian Americans with dementia may be particularly vulnerable to the stigma of chronic and severe mental illness. However, there is a dearth of empirical research to support this claim. This study examines the relationship of stigma and dementia in 32 qualitative inte...

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Published inJournal of cross-cultural gerontology Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 283 - 299
Main Authors Liu, Dandan, Hinton, Ladson, Tran, Cindy, Hinton, Devon, Barker, Judith C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston Springer US 01.09.2008
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Aging
Aging - ethnology
Aging - psychology
Anthropology
Asian Americans
Asian Americans - psychology
Caregivers - psychology
China - ethnology
Correlation analysis
Dementia
Dementia - ethnology
Elderly
Female
Geriatrics/Gerontology
Humans
Interviews as Topic
Male
Middle Aged
Original Article
Peoples Republic of China
Philosophy of Medicine
Prejudice
Public opinion
Senility
Social Sciences
Stigma
Studies
Theory of Medicine/Bioethics
United States
Vietnam
Vietnam - ethnology
United States
Vietnam
China
United States > US
Caregivers
Aging
Chinese
Vietnamese
Stigma
Dementia
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Summary:Prior literature emphasizes that Asian Americans with dementia may be particularly vulnerable to the stigma of chronic and severe mental illness. However, there is a dearth of empirical research to support this claim. This study examines the relationship of stigma and dementia in 32 qualitative interviews with Chinese and Vietnamese family caregivers. Stigma was a common theme in the interviews (91%). Further analysis revealed two sources: the stigma of chronic and severe mental illness and a stigma reflecting negative stereotypes of aging or the aged. Chinese and Vietnamese cultural views of normal aging are not unitary but accommodate different trajectories of aging, some more and some less desired. When applied to persons with dementia, a “normalized” but negative trajectory of aging carried with it significant stigma that was distinct from but in addition to the stigma of chronic and severe mental illness. Older Chinese and Vietnamese with dementia are thus at risk of experiencing multiple stigmas that include but go beyond the stigma associated with chronic and severe mental illness.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:0169-3816
1573-0719
DOI:10.1007/s10823-008-9075-5