Aging minority women: issues in research and health policy

This paper presents an overview of current knowledge about the economic, psychosocial and cultural dimensions of the aging process among minority women in the U.S. Attention is directed to the shorter life span of minority women and its implication for understanding aging, the reality of the "quadruple jeopardy" hypothesis, and the adaptative advantages minority women may have in dealing with growing older. The need to consider cohort effects and ethnic diversity in future research on minority women is stressed.