Asian Indian Elderly

I have been discussing abuse in my last couple posts, however what is abuse? Abuse can mean many different things to different people and different cultures; it is contingent on what is expected and what is viewed as abusive. Immigrants from India, like many people who immigrate to the US, are experiencing a shift of their view of maltreatment from traditional to modern.

Traditionally the Indian family system is patriarchal in which thee eldest male (father or grandfather) is responsible for all the affairs of the family. The family’s sons stay traditionally stay at the family home and bring their wives, who taken over the responsibilities of the house and the care of the elderly. Women in the family do not get many rights and are only seem as temporary members until they marry and become part of the husband’s family, however upon reaching old age and widow hood many become reliant on their children because of a lack of resources.  Indians are traditionally taught to venerate the elderly through scriptures and folk tales told them at a young age.

However, with the shift towards urbanization the family structure held traditionally is being broken down with children moving away from home and adopting new cultures. This shift is practices may also form divisions with parents who feel abandoned and neglected and accidental abuse. For example, in Nagpaul’s article we are introduced to Mrs. M, a widow living with her son and daughter in law, who like many Hindu’s is a vegetarian but her urbanized son and daughter in law are not. Because of her daughter-in-laws use of the same utensils in cooking meat and vegetarian meals, Mrs. M has begun surviving on buttermilk and bananas. The daughter in law may not see this as abuse but the elder Mrs. M does.

When looking at elder abuse of Asian Indians in the US, the study by Nagpaul found that although the younger and older generations may view different situations with more or less severity, they tend to agree on the overall view of an action and continue to emphasis respect for the elderly. However, communication between generations, as well as increased knowledge of elderly programs can help elderly Asian Indians from feeling alone and isolated. 

Nagpaul, Kalma.  (1997). Elder abuse among Asian Indians: Traditional versus modern perspectives. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 9(2), 77-92.  Retrieved April 24, 2011, from Health Module. (Document ID: 29577587)