A comparison between loneliness and death anxiety among active and inactive elderly male living in nursing homes in Yazd

  inactivity in Ageing has related to loneliness and social isolation. So, the aim of this study was to investigate the difference between loneliness and death anxiety in active and inactive Elderly male living in nursing homes in Yazd.

In this research, a causal comparative or post-event descriptive design was used. The statistical population of the study was all elderly men living in nursing homes of Yazd, during the years of 2017. The sample consisted of 148 male elderly people selected by random sampling in two groups of 74 active and inactive groups. The tools for this study are the SELSA-S scale, the Templar death anxiety scale (DAS) and the standard questionnaire on the amount of physical activity (1995). In order to study the effect of independent variable on dependent variables of loneliness and death anxiety, MANOVA multivariate analysis of variance was used.

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the sense of loneliness its sub-scales including social, Romantic, & family (P<0/001). The scores of active elderlies were higher than inactive group.  In addition, the scores of death anxiety and its sub-scales like; fear of death, emotional depend to others (P<0/001) in both active and inactive elderly groups.

The results of this study showed that loneliness and anxiety of death are serious psychological components that are more active in elderly people than their active counterparts. Hence, having activity and mobility in the aging period is necessary to improve the quality of life.