This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Starrett, R. A. Articles by DeLeon, L. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

A Comparison of the Social Service Utilization Behavior of the Cuban and Puerto Rican Elderly

Alicia M. Todd

California School of Professional Psychology

Linda DeLeon

California State University, Fresno, CA

The utilization of health services by the elderly has been widely studied. However, research on the use of social services has resulted in mixed findings. Furthermore, little empirical data exist that compare the utilization behavior of Spanish-speaking elderly groups. This study tests and compares models of social service utilization by the Cuban and Puerto Rican elderly. The model employed in this study proposes that use of services results from the individual and combined effects of groups of independent variables which can be categorized as Need, Enabling, and Predisposing factors. Results showed that the variables that directly predict the use of services, for the most part, are different between the Hispanic groups (ie., the need variables are better predictors of use among the Cuban elderly, whereas the enabling and predisposing variables are betterpredictors among the Puerto Rican elderly). The results underscore the need to view the Hispanic elderly population as a diverse and heterogeneous group in the development of social policies and programs and in future research efforts.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. J. Calsyn and J. P. Winter Predicting Specific Service Awareness Dimensions Research on Aging, November 1, 1999; 21(6): 762 - 780. [Abstract] [PDF]