Abstract

This paper, based on field research in the islands of American Samoa, explores the effects of modernization on the aged in a society in which age has traditionally brought increasing status and respect. Data from participant observation and interviews are analyzed in terms of Cowgill's “salient variables” of modernization, with the conclusion that the rapid and extensive societal changes of recent years have not eroded the status of these elders. This and other recent evidence suggests that cultural values are crucial intervening variables in the aging and modernization theory.

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