Psychological well-being of the Elderly in Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, growing old is usually feared because of the multi-faceted problems associated with ageing. Research has shown that conditions such as insufficient savings after retirement, poor access to health care, poor dietary intakes and poverty affect the psychological well-being of the elderly. Yet, there is paucity of research on the psychological condition of the elderly in Nigeria. This study examined the psychological well-being of the elderly in Ijumu local government area (LGA) of Kogi State Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted and 1,217 elderly aged 65+ were randomly selected. Psychological well-being was operationalized as whether the respondent experienced good or poor psychological well-being. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi Square tests and binary logistic regression. The mean age of the elderly was 72.3±8.4 years and a higher proportion (53.3%) experienced good psychological well-being. Age, level of education, current working status and financial assistance from children were the main determinants of good psychological well-being. Specifically, good psychological well-being decreased with increasing age. Also, the odds of having good psychological well-being was lower among those with no education and primary education compared with their counterparts with secondary education or more. Those who were currently working and who received financial assistance from children had better psychological wellbeing. This study showed that effective financial mechanisms need to be put in place by government, NGOs and/or children of the elderly to help improve the financial status of the elderly in order to enhance their psychological well-being.