The Elderly of Hispanic Origin: Population Characteristics for 1980

Abstract

This paper, therefore, focuses on salient demographic trends regarding each subgroup within the Hispanic. cluster (i.e., Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban) and examines dissimilarities in life expectancy, educational achievement, economic status and regional distribution which are attributable to within cluster structural deprivation and not to cultural disparities. An underlying assumption of this paper is that inequalities in American society have generated many of the observed sociodemographic variations among subgroups of older Hispanics. Furthermore, the demographic characteristics exhibited by either the cluster, the subgroup, or both primarily reflect the minority status of this population within the larger structure of American society and as such are independent of cultural influences. Lastly, it is the author's view that the "double jeopardy" hypothesis, about which much has been written in the last decade, directly impinges on the observed demographic dissimilarities that have been noted between minority and majority elderly and therefore for the Hispanic elderly. However, it is suggested that caution must be exercised in extending the effect of the double jeopardy situation to primary group experiences (e.g., the family) and to intrapersonal subjective states (e.g., life satisfaction), for in these two situations cultural variables appear to impact upon the life experiences of older Hispanics and may lessen the negative impact of the socioeconomic variables associated with minority status.