Reflections of older Iranian women adapting to life in the United States.

1. Introduction

Immigration has a significant impact on an individual's life. It forces people to reevaluate their relationships, their plans and goals, as well as their sources of life satisfaction. Immigration is a process, permanent or temporary, in which there is a separation from "home." Although the immigrant leaves home, memories of home continue to exert a major influence on that person's sense of self and quality of life.

Age is an important and often overlooked attribute that influences adjustment to a new cultural context. The simultaneous process of adapting to a host culture while attempting to maintain one's original sense of cultural identity is a difficult and stressful process at any age. Given the transitions and losses associated with aging, adjustment to immigration in later adulthood may be even more difficult (Searle & Ward, 1990). Very little research has addressed the adjustment process of older immigrants. This study 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 in later adulthood.

Older Iranians who immigrate to the United States face a very different set of cultural expectations than those they have left behind. Acculturation stress devolves from a number of interrelated factors including the cultural distance between the new culture and their home culture, the reason for immigration, the support available in the new culture, as well as the economic conditions faced before and after immigration (Berry & Kim, 1988; Williams & Berry, 1991). Older immigrants, especially older women, may also have to contend with the interacting effects of gender and age bias, and in the case of Iranians, possibly cultural discrimination. Ying and Liese (1994) have, in fact, identified a link between discrimination and increased acculturative stress. For Iranian immigrants in the United States, acculturation difficulties may be compounded by the fact that there are few positive images of Iranians in the American culture. Based upon the character of recent relations between the US and Iran, many Americans maintain negative attitudes and stereotypes about Iranians.

The influx of Iranians to the United States took place in two phases. The first phase (from the 1950s to the late 1970s) consisted primarily of students and a small number of immigrants. The second phase took place from the late 1970s, the time of the Iranian revolution, to the present. This group has consisted primarily of refugees and exiles. The 1990 Census indicates that the number of Iranian residents in the United States is approximately 216,000 to 235,000. The majority of this population of exiles has consisted of individuals with high levels of income, education, and professional skills (Naficy, 1993). Of the total Iranian population in the United States, only 6.2% were unemployed. Their education level tends to be higher than other recently arrived immigrants with 56% having a bachelor's degree. The median family income reported in 1990 was US$55,501, which is also higher than the national average. Employment and language competence are important considerations that influence adjustment to a new culture. Although Iranians have high levels of income and education, recent statistics indicate that 31% reported limited competence in English. In fact, 16.4% lived in linguistically isolated households (US Bureau of the Census, 1990).

Most Iranian immigrants in the United States live in urban areas such as New York, Atlanta, Washington, and Los Angeles. In these cities Iranians have access to resources provided by loosely constructed communities. These communities provide immigrants with a sense of belonging and may serve as a buffer against the stresses of cultural relocation (Inglehart, 1990; Maffesoli, 1996; Ortner, 1997). The central components of Iranian communities in the United States include both formal cultural organizations that coordinate holiday events, sponsor film festivals, and publish newsletters and more informal resource centers such as bookstores, markets, and restaurants.

Although there is a large and nuanced literature on newly emergent immigrant communities in the United States (Foner, 2000; Mahler, 1995; Margolis, 1994), few authors have focused their analytical attention on the psychological adjustments of older immigrant adults, especially older women. Older immigrants have experienced significant amounts of transitional stress that can influence their life satisfaction, health, and the nature of their social relationships (Barrow, 1992; Ryff & Essex, 1992). Older Iranian women have also faced dramatic social and political changes in their lives. During the recent history of Iran, they experienced the rapid and radical transformation of a traditional country into a modern "western" style state, only to see it returned back to a more traditional Islamic society.