Abstract:

Evidence from a large sample of Anglo, black, & Mexican-American Texans aged 55+ indicates that ethnicity exerts more powerful effects than age & socioeconomic status on educational attainment, timing of role exits, health & disability, activities, social supports, self-concept, morale, economic dependency, & the need for public services. Women, particularly minority women, are at greatest risk of poverty, dependency, & allied problems as they age; thus, inequalities based on race & sex have cumulative effects as people age. Mexican-American women have the least extensive, & upper middle class blacks the most extensive, social supports of those considered. The two minority groups register higher need for & use of social services than Anglos. Blacks & Anglos are more knowledgeable about existing public services than Mexican-Americans. Although Mexican-American males have more extensive informal social supports, they register a higher need for public services than their female peers because informal support networks are a means for dissemination of information about available public services. Among low socioeconomic status elderly, support networks enhance people's awareness of needs & facilitate utilization of public services; among higher socioeconomic status elderly, informal networks reduce both need for & utilization of public services. Public policy implications of the findings are discussed.