TOWARD UNDERSTANDING ETHNIC-DIFFERENCES IN LATE-LIFE DISABILITY

The authors hypothesized that ethnic differences in late-life disabili ty would be observed and that ethnic differentials would be attributed to differences in physical capacity versus measurement error or cultu ral response to disabling disease. This study employed performance-bas ed and self-report disability measures in a probability sample of 156 older African American, White, and Puerto Rican adults living in Sprin gfield, Massachusetts. Analyses revealed that Puerto Rican and African American older adults reported significantly more disability than did Whites and that observed ethnic differences in disability were attrib uted to functional limitations. The current cohort of Puerto Rican and African American older adults clearly is at higher risk of needing lo ng-term health and social services related to their increased levels o f disability.