Imelda Cedillo
Prior research has shown diversity of health outcomes among the older Latino/as, and pointed to factors like language barriers, lack of insurance, and economic resources in explaining this diversity. The primary goal of my research was to explore the differences in aging acceptance among older Latino/as in the United States, and the role of masculinity and femininity in aging acceptance. Scholars has said that because masculinity calls for men to be physical demanding of labor, with the limited access to health care, and have substandard and overcrowded living conditions and femininity to be the homemakers, and nurturers. I hypothesized that Latina women are more accepting of aging then Latino men are because they feel they must care for themselves to stay as healthy as possible to be able to care for the family. I ask, “Among Latino/as, what are the differences between men and women in the way they accept aging?” To answer this question, I conducted a secondary data analysis using the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (HEPESE) Wave 8, 2012-2013. This study included 737 respondents that were of 50+ years old, that identified as male or female of Latino/a origin and live in the United States. The data was conducted by interview in the language that the respondents were most comfortable with, and I have restricted my sample to those who answered for themselves, and those who had a proxy with them while answering. I estimated a means comparison test compare females with males on how healthy they saw themselves, and how many times they visited the doctor in prior year. After conducting my test, I found that my results were marginally statistically significant. I was able to show that women do attend the doctors more often, but not as many as I had assumed. My findings suggest policy makers will need to consider interventions that take into account gender, for exampling by teaching men how important it is that they accept that they are aging and seek medical attention as soon as possible to have a better quality of life.