MENTAL HEALTH AMONG SENIOR CITIZENS: EXAMINING THE PREDICTIVE ROLE OF SOCIAL ISOLATION AND LONELINESS

Abstract

Mental health has remained a recurring issue for the senior citizens globally. While studies have linked social isolation and loneliness to the mental health of senior citizens in many developed countries, studies in Nigeria are sketchy. Therefore, this study examines the predictive ability of social isolation and loneliness on mental health among senior citizens in Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey design was adopted while purposive sampling technique was used to select three communities in the study area. Data were collected from 342 senior citizens using validated scales and analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression to test an hypothesis which was accepted at p <.01 level of significance. The results demonstrated that loneliness positively predicted mental health among study participants (ß = .21, p < .01, R² = .04). In addition, the result revealed that social isolation positively but marginally predicted mental health among study participants (ß = .12, p < .05, R² = .01). The novelty of this study is that it is the first time social isolation and loneliness are investigated among semi-and rural senior citizens in Ebonyi State. The study recommends implementing routine mental health assessment on loneliness and building programmes that would reduce social isolation to improve mental health among senior citizens in the study population.

Keywords: Social Isolation, Loneliness, Mental Health, Senior Citizens, Ebonyi State.