ABSTRACT
When aging occurs within a culture that is different from the majority culture, ageist behavior may become intolerable. The double jeopardy theory looks at groups of elders and may be seen as a microanalysis of what the aging experience is for ethnic elders. In general, modernization theory views traditional families as providing more support to elderly members, whereas the opposite is true of more modernized families in which assistance and support has decreased. Modernization theory postulates that as each society modernizes and becomes more industrialized, the less status the elders' position in the family carries. The area of health care defies assimilation in that it is not uncommon for younger family members to go to their elders for medical advice and subsequently follow native or culture-specific ceremonies to deal with both mental and physical illnesses.
