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Call for Papers. Special Number "100 Years of Social Work: Discussions and Perspectives on the Discipline's Past, Present and Future". Submissions in Spanish or English until the 30th April 2025 for publication in October 2025 (Issue 10). For more information please see the following link.

Gerontological social work and ethnic diversity: a reflection from the case of the Aymara and Mapuche communities in Chile

Authors

Vol. 2 No. 4 (2022): Critical Proposal in Social Work
https://doi.org/10.5354/2735-6620.2022.61504

Abstract

Emphasizing cultural diversity in the aging process - an individual and social level - has become a trend and a necessity in recent years from social gerontology and from Gerontological Social Work. In this line, the objective of this presentation is the analysis of the possible differences and at the same time the similarities of the successful aging process of the two most populous native ethnic groups in Chile: mapuche and aymara, and to describe the cultural practices of indigenous older people and analyzes the relationship between successful aging and ethnic-culturalidentity. Likewise, to delve into the practical and theoretical applications of indigenous knowledge / worldview in Chilean social work. Method: Quantitative and cross-sectional study conducted between August and November 2017. Participated in this study 569 indigenous older people living in rural areas of the Arica and Parinacota and La Araucanía regions. Through a structured interview the Successful Aging Inventory (SAI), devised by Troutman et al. (2011) and Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) developed by Phinney (1992) Descriptive, bivariate and correlation analyzes are performed through the IMB-SPSS program, version 25. Discussion / conclusion: The results indicate a successful aging process for both indigenous peoples, in addition a high maintenance of indigenous cultural practices is noted and, finally, a positive and significant correlation is observed between successful aging and ethnic identity. From the Social Work discipline, in Chile, the need for greater specialization in the subject of aging is evident, through new methodologies, within the framework of an ethic of convergence, which is a mediating bridge between a dialogical ethic and conflictive, thereby allowing progress towards an intercultural ethic 

Keywords:

gerontological social work, ethnic diversity, Aymara people, Mapuche people

Author Biographies

Lorena Patricia Gallardo Peralta, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Lorena Patricia Gallardo Peralta holds a PhD in Social Work from the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), a Master degree in Social Psychology from University of Tarapacá (Chile). She is a Social Worker from the Pontifical Catholic University (Chile) and a Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Work of the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), and Associate Researcher at the Directorate of Research,
Postgraduate and Technology Transfer (DIPTT) of the University of Tarapacá (Chile). Member of the European Network on Intercultural Elderly Care (ENIEC) and the Latin American Research Network on Ageing of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing (LARNA).

E-mail: logallar@ucm.es

Abel Soto Higuera, Universidad de la Frontera

PhD candidate in Social Work at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). He holds a Master degree in Applied Social Sciences from University of La Frontera (Chile). Social Worker from the University of La Frontera and Lecturer at the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of La Frontera (Chile).

E-mail: abel.soto@ufrontera.cl

Luis Vargas Pizarro, Universidad de Tarapacá

PhD candidate in Social Work from the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) and a Master degree in Public Management from Mayor University (Chile). He is a Social Worker from the University of Antofagasta (Chile) and Lecturer at the School of Social Work, University of Tarapacá (Chile)

E-mail: lavargasp@uta.cl

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Gallardo Peralta, L. P., Soto Higuera, A., & Vargas Pizarro, L. (2022). Gerontological social work and ethnic diversity: a reflection from the case of the Aymara and Mapuche communities in Chile. Critical Proposals in Social Work, 2(4), 57–77. https://doi.org/10.5354/2735-6620.2022.61504
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Critical Proposals in Social Work
Facultad de Ciencias Sociales
Universidad de Chile
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