Education and Recreation Activities of Older Asian Immigrants

Abstract

Older Asian immigrants experience a variety of challenges when attempting to adapt to life in a new society. Adjustment difficulties associated with cultural differences among older Asian immigrants and the host country may result in a certain levels of acculturative stress. This stress is negatively associated with health and quality of life. In spite of benefits of participation in recreation activities for older Asian immigrants, they continue to experience constraints to their leisure participation that are associated with cultural differences (e.g., language barriers, limited social networks, different family roles, lack of awareness of leisure resources). To address this challenge, it may be helpful to develop strategies to support older Asian immigrants in their leisure pursuits. The purpose of this paper is to (a) examine older Asian immigrants’ issues related to acculturation and their help-seeking patterns, (b) discuss potential leisure constraints associated with cultural differences for leisure participation, and (c) provide suggestions on ways leisure service providers can offer leisure education programs, meaningful recreation activities originating in Asia, and multicultural recreation events.