UC Santa Barbara

Latine older adults (i.e., 65 years and older) comprised about 9% of the older adult population in the U.S. in 2019 and are projected to increase to 22% by 2060, making them the fastest growing older adult population (Administration for Community Living, 2020). Approximately 3.4 million South Americans lived in the U.S. in 2019, most of which immigrated during the 1960s-1980s (Montalvo & Batalova, 2024). Bolivians specifically accounted for 140,000 Latines in the U.S. in 2022, making up about 0.2% of the Latine population (Krogstad et al., 2022). Researchers have conducted studies to understand migrant mental health yet have primarily focused on new and/or young adult immigrants.The current study utilized Moustakas’ (1994) Transcendental Phenomenological approach to explore the migration, aging, mental health, and cultural identity experiences of nine Bolivian immigrants in the U.S. who migrated when they were 20-39 years old and are currently 65 years or older. Five themes explained the phenomenon of migration experience, which include mirando hacia los EE.UU, “un cambio bien fuerte”, oportunidades brindadas por estar en los EE.UU., “donde usted vaya, tiene que demostrar lo que es usted”: logros en los EE.UU., and recordando lo bueno de haber inmigrado. The essence of these themes underscores trajectories of what participants experienced before, during, and after immigrating to the U.S. Four themes explained the phenomenon of migration and aging influences on mental health, including “no sabía cómo iba a ser la vida aquí”, difficult to be in “Gringolandia”, “había que enfocarse más en la vida aquí y listo”: saliendo adelante en los EE.UU., and cuidando la salud física y mental: atentos a cambios con la edad. The essence of these themes highlighted well-being experiences over the course of participants’ adapting in the U.S., while also recognizing current health needs. Lastly, three themes explained the phenomenon of cultural identity development over time in the U.S., including manteniendo identidad boliviana, expandiendo identidad boliviana, and conexión cultural con Bolivia hoy en día. The essence of these themes captures changes in participants’ cultural identity over the course of their residency in the U.S.Findings provide a unique developmental perspective to the phenomena of migration, aging, mental health, and cultural identity development among older Bolivian immigrants in the U.S. Participants not only spoke of initial experiences in the U.S., but also reflected on the years lived in the U.S. until the present day. Researchers are encouraged to take a life course perspective on topics of migration experiences, mental health, and cultural identity development, in addition to recognizing strengths in each phenomenon. Researchers are also invited to consider broader definitions of cultural identity that are not specific to ethnicity and nationality. Study findings may additionally benefit clinicians working with older immigrant adults, particularly regarding care for an aging population’s physical and mental health needs.