Little information is available on the normal aspects of sleep in the elderly, and almost none from a cross-cultural perspective. The subjects of this study consisted of 562 elderly from Mexico, Spain, Venezuela, and the United States, who completed a 55-item Sleep Questionnaire, yielding scores on nine scales. Statistically significant differences between cultural groups on five scales and significant sex differences on three scales were obtained. These differences may reflect sample differences or cultural differences related to such themes as concern with death and attitudes toward sleep.
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