Liu Dandan, Hinton Ladson, Tran Cindy, Hinton Devon, Barker Judith C
University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA, USA.
J Cross Cult Gerontol. 2008 Sep;23(3):283-99. doi: 10.1007/s10823-008-9075-5.
Prior literature emphasizes that Asian Americans with dementia may be particularly vulnerable to the stigma of chronic and severe mental illness. However, there is a dearth of empirical research to support this claim. This study examines the relationship of stigma and dementia in 32 qualitative interviews with Chinese and Vietnamese family caregivers. Stigma was a common theme in the interviews (91%). Further analysis revealed two sources: the stigma of chronic and severe mental illness and a stigma reflecting negative stereotypes of aging or the aged. Chinese and Vietnamese cultural views of normal aging are not unitary but accommodate different trajectories of aging, some more and some less desired. When applied to persons with dementia, a "normalized" but negative trajectory of aging carried with it significant stigma that was distinct from but in addition to the stigma of chronic and severe mental illness. Older Chinese and Vietnamese with dementia are thus at risk of experiencing multiple stigmas that include but go beyond the stigma associated with chronic and severe mental illness.
先前的文献强调，患有痴呆症的亚裔美国人可能特别容易受到慢性和严重精神疾病污名化的影响。然而，缺乏实证研究来支持这一说法。本研究通过对32名中国和越南家庭照顾者进行定性访谈，考察了污名与痴呆症之间的关系。污名是访谈中的一个常见主题（91%）。进一步分析揭示了两个来源：慢性和严重精神疾病的污名，以及反映对衰老或老年人负面刻板印象的污名。中国和越南文化对正常衰老的看法并非单一的，而是包容不同的衰老轨迹，有些更受欢迎，有些则不然。当应用于痴呆症患者时，一种“正常化”但负面的衰老轨迹伴随着显著的污名，这种污名与慢性和严重精神疾病的污名不同，但除此之外。因此，患有痴呆症的中国和越南老年人有遭受多种污名的风险，这些污名包括但不限于与慢性和严重精神疾病相关的污名。
