Reflections of older Iranian women: Adapting to life in the United States

Age is an important and often overlooked attribute that influences adjustment to a new cultural context. This paper focuses on the ways in which older Iranian women, who spent their youth and middle adult years in Iran, have adapted to life in the United States. The results are based on extensive interviews with 19 Iranian women over the age of 65 (age range was 65 to 85). Although the majority of women interviewed expressed positive feelings about themselves and a sense of satisfaction with the transitions in their lives, considerable individual differences were identified. These differences focused primarily on the ways in which they attempted to adapt or cope with the new cultural environment in which they were living. Analysis resulted in the identification of three general strategies of adaptation to immigration. These strategies were labeled as withdrawn, insular, and assimilative.