Multicultural Aging Overview

Principles

Definition

Multicultural aging is a field of study that investigates the complex interplay of cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and migratory factors influencing the aging process and the experiences of older adults from diverse backgrounds. It examines how cultural contexts shape health, social support, identity, and well-being in later life, highlighting heterogeneity within and across populations to inform culturally competent research, practice, and policy.

Ontological type

Health Disparities

Core Frameworks

Policy and Practice

Key developments

Key Figures

Cross-Cultural Aging Paradigm era

Robert L Kane[1] of University of California, San Francisco[3] and Northwestern University[4] contributed to cross-cultural aging scholarship in the 2000–2006 era. His key contributions based on Ageism: Negative and Positive[7] advanced understanding of how ageism manifests in both negative and positive forms, informing cross-cultural anti-ageism policy discourse crucial for this era. Erdman Palmore[2] affiliated with Duke University[5] and Durham Technical Community College[6] helped shape cross-cultural aging perspectives in this era. His key contributions based on Ageism: Negative and Positive[7] highlighted attitudes toward aging and the role of education and socialization in shaping perceptions across cultures, underpinning era-driven policy and practice changes.

Culturally Situated Active Aging era

Alan Walker[1] is a leading scholar in multicultural aging during the culturally situated active aging era, with affiliations at McMaster University[3] and Pennsylvania State University[4]. His key contribution centers on Active ageing: A strategic policy solution to demographic ageing in the European Union[7], which articulates policy pathways for aging in place and social inclusion within EU governance structures and explains why such measures mattered for this era. Simon Biggs[2] is another central figure in this era, with affiliations at King's College London[5] and University of Eastern Finland[6]. His contributions include critical policy takes on work and retirement and mature subjectivity, notably through International and European policy on work and retirement: Reinventing critical perspectives on active ageing and mature subjectivity[8] and The Mature Imagination and Consumption Strategies[9], which together reframed policy discourse and consumer expectations in later life for cultural diversity.

Stereotype Embodiment Paradigm era

Maria Fernanda Lima‐Costa [1] is a senior scholar linked to the University of California, Los Angeles [3] and Queen Mary University of London [4] during the Stereotype Embodiment Paradigm era [7]. Her key contribution in this era is the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil): Objectives and Design [7], which established a major cross-cultural cohort framework for aging research and enabled longitudinal insights into how embodied aging shapes health and participation. Dominic Abrams [2] is a prominent researcher affiliated with Durham University [5] and Universidade do Porto [6] in this period. His contributions include The Risks of Ageism Model [8] and The barriers to and enablers of positive attitudes to ageing and older people, at the societal and individual level [9], which articulate how age stereotypes operate as psychosocial determinants and inform policy and intervention strategies to interrupt embodied ageism.