Mjelde-Mossey Lee Ann, Walz Emily
Ohiuo State University, College of Social Work, 1947 College Road, Columbus, OH, 43210-1162, USA.
J Women Aging. 2006;18(1):5-20. doi: 10.1300/J074v18n01_02.
The world is aging and the trend is towards a global feminization of aging. In the Asia Pacific region, which already contains approximately 50% of the world's population over age 60, the number of older women exceeds that of older men in most countries. This article explores the changes that are occurring in East Asian social and cultural traditions for aging and discusses the implications of those changes for women who aged in that culture. In the traditional culture, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean families are influenced by values of family centrality and collective orientation to life that are mostly rooted in Confucian values and ethics. In those traditions, older women assume and maintain a valued status within the family and community through respected roles and productive contributions. However, various factors, such as migration to urban areas and demographic shifts, have precipitated modernization of these societies and alterations of traditional culture. These cultural shifts are relevant to the United States where, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, 71.0% of Asian and Pacific Islander-Americans over the age 65 are foreign-born. Immigration can prompt an immediate cultural shift and create a fast forward insight into the slower cultural evolution currently occurring in East Asian societies.
世界正在老龄化，而且趋势是全球老龄化女性化。在已经拥有全球约50% 60岁以上人口的亚太地区，大多数国家老年女性的数量超过老年男性。本文探讨东亚社会和文化传统中正在发生的老龄化变化，并讨论这些变化对在那种文化中变老的女性的影响。在传统文化中，中国、日本和韩国家庭受到家庭中心价值观和集体生活取向的影响，这些价值观大多植根于儒家价值观和道德观念。在那些传统中，老年女性通过受人尊敬的角色和有价值的贡献在家庭和社区中获得并保持有价值的地位。然而，诸如向城市地区迁移和人口结构变化等各种因素，促成了这些社会的现代化和传统文化的改变。这些文化转变与美国相关，根据2000年美国人口普查，65岁以上的亚裔和太平洋岛民美国人中有71.0%是外国出生的。移民会引发即时的文化转变，并让人快速洞察东亚社会目前正在发生的较为缓慢的文化演变。
