THE INVESTIGATION OF THE MENTAL HEALTH OF THE ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS

Abstract

 The objective of this research was to investigate  the mental health  levels of Turkish elderly people in terms of some variables.. This was a descriptive  study involving a total of 118 elderly individuals in Izmir, 75 female and 43 male, who participated voluntarily. The instruments were the Personal Information Form and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form. Independent samples t test and ANOVA were employed for data analysis. The results revealed that there were no statistically significant difference between the mental health points of the elderly according to their gender, t(116) = 0.010, p = .320 and their ages  (F(2, 115) = 1,066, p = 0,348). It was observed that there were statistically significant differences (F(3,114) = 3.524, p = .017) between the mental health points of the elderly according to their social security. Those who are affiliated to the Social Security Institution have the highest mental health points (x=45,43). This is followed by those who are affiliated with insurance self-employed institution (x=44,26), those with a pension fund (x= 39,1852) and those who have no social security (x= 34,15). It was observed that there were statistically significant differences between the mental health points of the elderly according to their spare time activities (F (2,115)= 3.035; p=0.050 ). Those who spend their spare time praying have the highest mental health points (x= 45.04). This is followed by those who spend time with friends (x= 44.79) and those who watch television (38.92). It was found that there is a statistically significant difference t(116 ) = 5.331, p = .00). between the mental health points of the elderly according to whether they can eat what they want (x= 47.19) or not (x=35.07), The mean point of mental health of the elderly who can eat whatever they want (x=47.19) is higher than the mean score of those who cannot eat what they want (x=35.07). It was found that there was no statistically significant difference (t(116) = 1.691, p = 0.093.) between the mental health points of the elderly according to their well-being and not living. It was found that there are statistically significant differences (t(116 ) = 2.820, p = .008) between the mental health points of the elderly according to whether they feel happy (x= 44,62)  or not (x=35,31). These results obtained from the research were discussed in terms of psychological counseling.