Lillian Comas-Díaz, a clinical psychologist and George Washington University professor with expertise in transcultural mental health, gender, and aging, shares her insights into why Latinas worry.
On aging and caretaking:
The idea of growing old and having family take care of you becomes culturally incongruent. You look around and you see it’s not happening. You cannot go to your mother; she might not understand emotionally because she has you to take care of her. You can’t go to your children; they are taking care of themselves. Statistically, your husband will die before you and financially you’re worse off. You are in an ocean by yourself with just a salvavidas.
On the role of women:
There’s a script that tells us what it is like to be a member of a Latino family. You were told as a child that your role as a woman would be as a caretaker, regardless of birth order. It is part of your identity to be a caretaker just because you are a Latina.
On the role of religion:
In a way, religion reinforces conformity and an external locus of control. You might say, “I don’t have the power to change things. If this is God’s will, I have to accept it. And is this saying something about me? Am I being punished?” On the other hand, spirituality can provide resilience to cope more effectively. In other words, “I am not alone; I am connected to everyone through the divinity.”
On building communities:
We need to create a community—whether you call it familia, barrio, or nuestra pandilla—where the mode of relating is reciprocal. When you are growing up, you are told through marianismo and familismo that it is reciprocal, but now it isn’t. We have to create that bond so the chain can continue. The concept of comadres is a good example of creating community; comadres are there to help each other and the community at large.
