Comparison of the Religious Beliefs and Psychological Well-‎being of Depressed and Non-depressed Elderly Women

Aims: 

Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders in the aging period that leads to a decrease in the mental health and well-being of elderly people. Faith and religious beliefs as well as the acceptance of reality of aging can be a factor in reducing the symptoms of depression. The aim of this study was to compare the religious beliefs and psychological well-being of depressed and non-depressed elderly women.

The present descriptive research is a causal-comparative study. The population of this study included all elderly women, who were the members of Jahandidegan center in District 1 of Tehran Municipality during 2016, of whom 75 depressed and 75 non-depressed elderly were selected by available sampling method. The research instruments were Allport and Russ Religious Orientation Scale, Reef’s Psychological Well-Being Scale, and Geriatric Depression Scale. The data were analyzed by independent T test, using SPSS 22.

Findings: 

There was a significant difference between religious beliefs (t=-7.46) and psychological well-being (t=-5.36) in depressed and non-depressed elderly women, and mean scores of these two variables were significantly higher in non-depressed women than in depressed women (p=0.001).

Religious beliefs and psychological well-being are higher in non-depressed elderly women than in depressed elderly women.