This study sought to address the gaps in the literature on Asian American gerontology with a multiply marginalized group in terms of gender, immigration status, and context. Guided by a multiple case study approach, we sought to explore how social support was experienced by four Vietnamese elderly refugee women residing in different living arrangements (i.e., alone, with spouse, with adult children, or in a multigenerational household). Within-case analyses were conducted to yield descriptive information about each individual. Additionally, three overarching themes emerged across each of the living arrangements: (1) Burden of care-taking, (2) Distinguishing family from nonfamily help, and (3) Ambivalence toward government-sponsored services. Our findings provide a contextualized understanding of social support to explain the inconsistencies that have been found in the literature on Asian American gerontology and family support. The benefits of living alone are described, along with the potential risks of coresidency. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Social support Women Living arrangement Community health Refugees Vietnamese American older adults

household refugee vietnamese adult child ambivalence demography Nebraska human immigration Refugees statistics and numerical data Aged social support ethnology family size procedures Family Characteristics Residence Characteristics Humans psychology classification Cross-Cultural Comparison California Asian Americans male case report Asian American female spouse cultural factor adult gender migration case study government Emigration and Immigration gerontology public health