Latino elders reframing familismo: implications for health and caregiving support

Abstract: This study explores Latino elders' perceptions of familismo and the extent to which a familistic orientation translates into health support. Latinos have traditionally been portrayed as adhering to a familistic orientation with the presumption of duty and obligation to care or aging parents. Latino elders participated in focus groups that became the basis of this study. These elders shared ways they are reframing the familismo construct. Despite a greater need for support, elders reported infrequent contact with family. In the absence of family, family boundaries have been extended, so that others become "like family to me. The findings call into question the present state of familismo and the presumption that the Latino family is able to care for its own.