The Relationship between Life Expectancy and Religious Attitude with Elderly Psychological Hardiness: The Mediating Role of Social Support

Identifying factors related to the mental health of the elderly is one of the topics of interest in the field of geriatric psychology. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between life expectancy and religious attitudes with psychological hardiness of elder peoples with regard to the mediating role of social support.

This study was a descriptive-correlational study and structural equation modeling method was used for data analysis. The statistical population consisted of all elder people in Tehran, 329 of whom were selected by convenience sampling method and They responded to Ahwaz psychological hardiness questionnaires, life expectancy, religious attitudes, and social support scales.

Structural equation modeling showed that the hypothetical model of research has a good fit with the data and also the direct path of life expectancy variables, religious attitudes and social support to psychological hardiness was significant (P <0.05). It has also been shown that social support variable has a significant mediating effect between life expectancy and religious attitudes with psychological stubbornness.

Based on the results of this study, it is suggested to consider the mediating role of social support in the relationship between life expectancy and religious attitudes with psychological hardiness and therapists to incorporate this component in their therapeutic practice.