Answer to Question 1
True
Answer to Question 2
Age, race/ethnicity, and economic inequality are closely intertwined. Inequalities that exist later in life originate in individuals' early participation in the labor force and are amplified in late adulthood.
African Americans continue to feel the impact of segregated schools and overt patterns of job discrimination that were present during their early years. Although African Americans constitute only about 8.4 percent of the population age 65 and over, they account for 26 percent of the low-income older population. The primary reason for the lower income status of many older African Americans can be traced to a pattern of limited employment opportunities and periods of unemployment throughout their lives, combined with their concentration in secondary-sector jobs, which pay lower wages, are sporadic, have few benefits, and were not covered by Social Security prior to the 1950s. Moreover, health problems may force some African Americans out of the labor force earlier than other workers due to a higher rate of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and kidney failure. Similarly, older Latino/as have higher rates of poverty than whites because of lack of educational and employment opportunities. Some older Latino/as entered the country illegally and have had limited opportunities for education and employment, leaving them with little or no Social Security or other benefits in their old age. High rates of poverty among older Latino/as are associated with poor health conditions, lack of regular care by a physician, and fewer trips to the hospital for medical treatment of illness, disease, or injury.
Older Native Americans are among the most disadvantaged of all categories. Older Native Americans are most likely to live in high-poverty, rural areas than are other minority older populations. Some studies have found that about 50 percent of all older Native Americans live in poverty, having incomes that are between 40 and 60 percent less than those of older white Americans. Research findings regarding the mental health of older Native Americans also indicate a high rate of depression, alcoholism, and other drug abuse, and suicide.
Among older Asian Americans, many who arrived in the United States prior to 1930 have fared less well in their old age than those who were native-born or were more recent arrivals.
Today, many older Asian Americans remain in Chinatown, Japantown, or Koreatown, where others speak their language and provide goods and services that help them maintain their culture, and where mutual aid and benevolent societies and recreational clubs provide them with social contacts and delivery of services. As a result, many older Asian Americans who qualify for various forms of entitlements, such as Supplemental Security Income, do not apply for it. Cultural values, including traditional healing practices, may help explain why many Asian Americans do not use physical and mental health services that are available to them.