The role of cultural continuity /ethnic congruence with relationship to life satisfaction and psychological well being for ethnic Hungarians in a Hungarian nursing hom

The search for variables that provide for life satisfaction and psychological well being for the elderly has been driven by the realization that advancing age brings many losses that can be internalized and result in "late-life depression". Proposed correlates to life satisfaction for the elderly range from internal psychological needs to external environmental factors. Yet, the role of the ethnic/cultural framework from which the elderly ethnic people originated, and possibly still function, has been largely overlooked.;Elderly European immigrants who settled in primarily urban areas of the United States in the early twentieth century are increasingly being placed in long-term institutional care. Generally, these facilities are foreign to the understanding, values, and language of the ethnic elderly. The isolation that results poses grave threats to the physical, mental, and emotional well being of the resident.;This study examined how ethnic congruence affects life satisfaction and psychological well being of ethnic Hungarian elderly in a Hungarian nursing home. The study consisted of observational assessment and open-ended in-depth interviews with seven ethnic Hungarian residents. Structured and semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff and administrative personnel concerning the philosophy and environment of the nursing home facility.;These interviews were evaluated in relation to the question: how do elderly Hungarian residents of a Hungarian nursing home perceive the quality of their lives and to what extent do they attribute the quality to ethnic congruence and the continuity of their culture in the home? Data supported the conclusion that ethnic congruence and cultural continuity played a central role in perceived life satisfaction of the Hungarian nursing home residents.;Results of this study are important to alert mental health care providers to possible contributory factors to late-life depression in ethnic elderly. It offers suggestions for optimal living arrangements for ethnic elderly with regard to treating late-life depression and for promoting their life satisfaction and psychological well being. The need for more research into the role of ethnic congruence for the psychological well being of ethnic elderly is especially meaningful in relation to the current influx of Asian and Hispanic immigrants and their elderly into this country.