Denise C. Lewis

Types, meanings and ambivalence in intergenerational exchanges among Cambodian refugee families in the United States

ABSTRACT This article aims to answer the following question: how have refugee families in the United States (US) modified attitudes and behaviours surrounding intergenerational exchanges within the context of filial piety? This research reports on one 31-member extended family in a community of Cambodian refugee families living along the Gulf of Mexico coast. The family members in this study have changed types, found new meanings in, and are often ambivalent about, intergenerational exchanges. Moreover, they have held onto those aspects of Cambodian culture that were considered essential, such as filial piety and elder reverence, while adapting and redefining types and meanings of intergenerational exchanges the better to reflect their current lives in the United States. These findings illuminate ways in which changed life circumstances and cultural transitions shaped attitudes, preferences and behavioural patterns associated with intergenerational exchanges. The findings also show how and why refugee families have negotiated and modified their beliefs and behaviours surrounding intergenerational exchanges in the context of massive social and cultural disruption.

Aging Out of Place: Cambodian Refugee Elders in the United States

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 ones 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. Ones 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.

Caring for and Learning from Each Other: A Grounded Theory Study of Grandmothers and Adult Granddaughters

This study examines the transmission of values between grandmothers and adult granddaughters, including how these values are transmitted bidirectionally and then used to cocreate a mutually formed value set. Past research has been restricted to a unidirectional approach of transmission of values from older generation to younger generation. The majority of past studies support that youth look to elders for guidance on life, values, and moral development. Few studies have ventured to consider a bidirectional process, in which the elder also benefits from the relationship and a dynamic relationship emerges. Data gathering for this study began with a focus group (n = 6) to pilot the interview guide followed by semistructured interviews with four grandmother-granddaughter dyads. Data indicate that grandmothers and adult granddaughters experience a change in their relationship when the granddaughter reaches adulthood, that the relationship is mutually beneficial, that both generations learn from exchanges within the relationship, and that both grandmothers and granddaughters influence each others personal identity. This study provides valuable insight and a first step toward an emerging theory that suggests relationships are reciprocal and bidirectional between grandmothers and adult granddaughters.

Cambodian Refugee Families in the United States: “Bending the Tree” to Fit the Environment

Cambodian refugee families provide intergenerational exchanges within the context of dissonant cultural ideologies—Cambodian interdependence versus U.S. independence. Family membership includes both kin and nonkin, whose differentiation, over time, becomes irrelevant. Although comprised of fewer biologically related family members than might have been expected of families in Cambodia, the newly constructed family provides a foundation for security across generations. These Cambodian refugee families demonstrate a resilience that allows them to adapt to cultural differences and to maintain a tenacity that also allows them to hold onto a strong Cambodian identity with its beliefs and behaviors fully centered on intergenerational exchanges.

A Model for Aging in Place in Apartment Communities

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to introduce a theoretical model for an aging-in-place housing specialist for those living in congregate housing facilities. A “needs assessment” tool is outlined to help facilitate the successful implementation of a Health and Aging Residential Service Coordinator (HARSC), both from a research perspective and from implementation of training curriculum for this specialized population. A model that provides both on- and off-site services is hypothesized to be most effective.

Marital Satisfaction, Conflict Resolution Styles, and Religious Attendance Among Latino Couples: Using the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model

Research related to the process of communication among couples is central to the work of couple and family therapists. This study examines the relationship between couple’s conflict resolution styles, weekly church attendance, and marital satisfaction. Specifically, we surveyed 191 Latino couples using Gottman’s typology of conflict resolution styles (e.g., validator, avoidant, and volatile) to identify which style predicted marital satisfaction for both partners. Using the actor–partner interdependence model, we find a multifaceted picture of how partner’s conflict resolution style influences theirs and their partner’s marital satisfaction.

Cambodian Refugee Families: Impacts of Immigration-Related Stressors on Intergenerational Relationships

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to elucidate Cambodian refugees’ perceptions of immigration-related stressors and their impacts on intergenerational relations during the processes of immigration and settlement. We used narrative analysis to evoke older immigrants’ voices as they transitioned to the United States. Thirty-one Cambodian immigrants were interviewed using open-ended interview guides informed by ethnographic tenets of data collection. Participants expressed (a) changes in family structure and elder isolation and (b) intergenerational ambivalence and elder’s dependence on adult children as products of immigration-related stressors. Implications of these results for refugee and immigrant mental health research are discussed.

A Practitioner’s Guide to End-of-Life Intimacy

Sexuality and intimacy, including contact, tenderness, and love, are important at every life stage. Intimate expression is especially vital at the end of life, when relationships with loved ones are time limited. Unfortunately, care providers often ignore the potential need for sexual expression, especially at the end of life. In this article, we consider current research on sexuality and end-of-life care and situate these two fields in an ecological framework. We explore how end-of-life sexuality and intimacy can be supported by practitioners in multiple nested contexts and provide suggestions for theoretically-driven interventions. We also provide reflexive considerations for practitioners.

Conflict and Care Israeli Healthcare Providers and Syrian Patients and Caregivers in Israel

Israel has provided immediate healthcare to Syrian children, civilians and fighters since early 2013 despite being in an official state of war with Syria since 1973. We present qualitative findings from a larger mixed-methods phenomenological study to understand how the geopolitical and social history of Israel and Syria influences healthcare providers and Syrian patient caregivers in northern Israel. Theories of humanization and cognitive dissonance guided this study and frame the beliefs and experiences of healthcare providers who treated wounded Syrians in Israeli hospitals. Findings indicate healthcare providers and Syrian caregivers adjusted their beliefs to allow for positive healthcare experiences. Qualitative analysis revealed two major themes: supportive and hindering systemic elements contributing to the healthcare provider-patient-caregiver relationship. Internal psychological developments, contextual factors, and relational processes influenced humanization of the other within the relationship. This study illuminates unique ethical and humanitarian demands relevant for healthcare workers and those with whom they interact.

Sex after divorce: older adult women’s reflections

ABSTRACT People who divorce experience a number of negative impacts, and yet divorce also offers opportunities for growth and transformation. This qualitative study of older adult women offers the possibility that divorce may be sexually empowering, especially for women, based on in-depth interviewing of women who had gone through one or more divorces. Detailed examples of the experiences of fourteen women with divorce and sexual expression are offered, focusing on in which situations divorce might be empowering and how it could contribute to sexual exploration and satisfaction. Overall, for the fourteen women in the study who had experienced divorce, the quality of sex in the marriage impacted the quality of sexual expression after the divorce. Also, these findings supported the idea of transformational learning through divorce, and expand divorce-stress-adjustment and transformational learning perspectives to apply more specifically to sexual expression. Understanding possible impacts of divorce over the lifespan, including strengths-based aspects, is important for social workers as the population they serve ages.