Jill S. Reichman

Reichman debunks the myth of the cognitive and behavioral intransigence of first generation Mexican immigrants. Focusing on health care, she reveals the flexibility of female immigrants' beliefs about health and illness. She demonstrates how the rate of acculturation varies with the complaint: those with chronic disease shift health ideology faster than those sick from sub-acute illnesses. Ultimately, all sojourners learn new ways to care for themselves and redefine how they prevent and treat disease. Reichman's most important discovery is that the majority of changes occur within ten years, regardless of the age at which immigration takes place, the type of sending community, the level of education, or the English language fluency of the migrant.