Notably, no distinct network solely composed of friends was identified in the present sample of older immigrants; this may reflect the disruptions in social convoys caused by immigration. The findings of this study promote our understanding of the unique patterns of social connectedness in older immigrants.

This research was supported by a grant from John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars program. The author acknowledges and notes appreciation for the cooperation of the facilities and residents who participated in this study. Assistance from doctoral students was invaluable in interviewing residents and managing the data; the students include Laurel Hitchcock, Fei Sun, Bryan Ford, and Hae Jung Shin. Special thanks are also reserved for Drs. Lucinda Roff, David Klemmack, and Sheryl Zimmerman for comments on the article and on the conduct of the project.

Our findings suggest that loneliness may explain the mechanism by which deficits in social engagement exerts its effect on depressive symptoms and that gender differences should be considered in interventions targeting social engagement for mental health promotion.

Findings demonstrate the importance of family and friends as a source of social network and call attention to not only structural but also non-structural aspects of social isolation. Findings and implications are discussed in cultural contexts.

There has been growing concerns about racial and ethnic disparities in completion rates of advance directives (ADs) among community-dwelling older populations. While differences in AD completion rates in non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans have been reported, not much is known about the awareness and completion of ADs in other groups of ethnic minorities. Using a sample of community-dwelling Korean American older adults (n = 675) as a target, factors associated with their awareness and completion of ADs were explored. Guided by Andersen's behavioral health model, predisposing (age, sex, marital status, and education), need (chronic conditions and functional disability), and enabling variables (health insurance and acculturation) were included in the separate logistic regression models of AD awareness and AD completion. In both models, acculturation was found to be a significant predictor; those who had a higher level of acculturation were more likely to be aware of ADs and to have completed ADs. This study contributes to the knowledge about the role of acculturation in explaining AD awareness and completion among Korean American older adults and provides practice implications for possible AD educational interventions for this older adult minority population.