Older minority immigrant groups in the United States may be at increased risk for traumatic stress in an age of terrorism and of civil and political unrest. This exploratory study investigated how older Hispanic immigrants in New York City coped in response to current traumatic stressors, and whether they differed from a comparison group of older US-born non-Hispanics. We administered the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Brief COPE instruments to 24 older Hispanic immigrants and 15 older non-Hispanics, born in the United States, at 2 senior centers. Hispanic immigrants showed greater symptomatic response to current stressors as measured by significantly higher scores on the hyperarousal and avoidance subscales of the IES-R. Both groups used passive coping strategies. Older Hispanic immigrants may be at increased risk for negative psychological consequences caused by a current stressor. Practitioners should encourage older Hispanic immigrants to use active coping strategies to deal with those stressors. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

culture IES-R Brief COPE Immigrant stressors Hispanics gerontology older adults coping strategies trauma

psychological aspect human Life Change Events life event comparative study Aged Adaptation, Psychological ethnology Social Work Hispanic Americans United States Humans Hispanic male Emigrants and Immigrants female Socioeconomic Factors adaptive behavior socioeconomics Article migration New York City posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic geriatrics