ABSTRACT
Vietnamese Migration and Acculturation The Vietnamese population in the United States is over 1,100,000 people, comprising 10.9% of the U.S. Asian American population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). Only 5% of Vietnamese are age 65 and above, compared to 12.4% of the overall population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). As this population ages, there will be considerable growth in the number of Vietnamese elders, including those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. California has the largest population of Vietnamese. Most Vietnamese Americans are refugees and displaced immigrants who arrived at the end of the Vietnam War. In 1975, nearly 125,000 Vietnamese refugees came to the United States (U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1976-1990). This initial wave included many South Vietnamese military officers, government officials, professionals, and business leaders, who, along with their families, were evacuated by air or boat from South Vietnam during the Communist takeover. This group was predominantly ethnic Vietnamese, more educated, and had more prior exposure to Western culture than those who migrated later.
