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4฀ Social Support Networks amon g Elderly Chinese Americans in Los Angeles James Lubben and Alex Lee D฀Introduction฀ The stud y o f elderl y Chines e America n population s i s o f increasin g importance. Between 198 0 and 1990 , the total Chines e American populatio n grew eight time s faster tha n th e total US population (Barringer , Gardne r an d Levin 1993) . Largely , i t was immigratio n rathe r tha n ne w birth s tha t drov e this surge because Chines e American women hav e one of the lowest fertilit y rates among American women. Give n these low birth rates and th e advance d age o f man y o f th e recen t immigrants , i t i s no t surprisin g tha t th e Chines e American populatio n i s one o f the most rapidl y ageing subgroups i n th e US. US immigratio n policie s partiall y accoun t fo r th e rapi d growt h o f th e elderly Chines e America n population . Th e 196 5 Immigratio n Ac t abolishe d strict quotas, allowing persons t o enter th e US on th e basis o f a person's job skills or a desire to reunite with family. The decades following th e enactmen t of this new immigration policy have been called the 'golden years' for Chines e immigration t o th e US, during which tim e the Chines e American populatio n more tha n triple d (Huan g 1991) . In 1965 , th e U S accepte d fewe r tha n 30 0 00 0 immigrant s fro m al l countries. B y 1989 , ove r on e millio n immigrant s wer e bein g accepte d eac h year (Shinagawa 1996) . This rising tide of new immigrants, many with limited chances o f gainfu l employment , generate d considerabl e debate . Man y 54฀JAMES ฀LUBBEN฀AND฀ALEX฀LEE฀ politicians cam e t o questio n th e appropriatenes s o f th e famil y reunificatio n feature o f US immigration polic y that had become the dominant rationale fo r legal entry into the US. Particularly in times of economic downturn, the debate became quit e viperous . However , th e 199 0 Immigratio n Ac t essentiall y reaffirmed famil y reunificatio n a s a legitimat e basi s fo r entr y int o th e US . However, a s a compromise , th e ne w legislatio n increase d th e allotmen t o f slots reserved for thos e with job skills deemed t o be needed t o further th e US economy (Barringer , Gardne r an d Levin 1993) . For various reasons, including it s location o n th e Pacific Rim , Californi a has been the favourite destinatio n fo r Chines e immigrants (Shinagaw a 1996) . Chinese ranks onl y behind Spanis h a s a language othe r tha n Englis h spoke n in California n home s (Clar k 1998) . Man y Chines e immigrants , onc e the y gained U S citizenship , sponsore d othe r relatives , includin g parents , thu s fuelling th e tremendous increase in the elderly Chinese American population . By way of example, Ong (1989) estimate d that the number of elderly Chines e in Californi a woul d gro w by 800% in the 30-year perio d fro m 197 0 t o 2000 . He also estimated that in the year 2000, more than 80% of the elderly Chines e American populatio n i n Californi a woul d b e foreign-born . This phenomena l growt h o f th e elderl y Chines e America n populatio n has increasingly captured the attention of health and social science researchers. However, muc h o f ou r curren t knowledg e a s t o elderl y Chines e American s remains largely confined t o information derive d from studie s of questionabl e value, due to inadequate research designs or unsubstantiated inference s mad e from studies of other elderly Asian American or minority subgroups. Relatively few studie s o f an y typ e hav e explore d pattern s o f socia l suppor t network s specially among elderly Chinese American populations, or made comparison s...

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