DETERMINING PATTERNS OF FORMAL SERVICE USE AMONG MEXICAN-AMERICAN ELDERLY - IMPROVING EMPIRICAL TECHNIQUES FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE

This study compares two analytical approaches to the identification of associated formal services used by a sample of 773 elderly Mexican Am ericans. In order to identify the most efficacious approach, both hier archical cluster analysis and factor analysis techniques are presented and contrasted for potential use in applied aging research. Results i ndicated that among the nine services used by Mexican American elderly in this sample, there are two clusters of intercorrelated services th at represent categories of latent service needs. These services should be considered as service ''packages.'' Furthermore, the use of factor analysis, among elders of this sample, provided a better or more comp lete interpretation of the data than hierarchical cluster analysis.