The psychosocial problems of the elderly: implicationS for social work practice

Tracy B. E. Omorogiuwa
University of Benin, Department of Social Work, Benin City, Nigeria

Korespondenční autor: Tracy B. E. Omorogiuwa (tracy.omorogiuwa@uniben.edu, tracy_4life@yahoo.com)

ISSN 1804-7181 (On-line)

Full verze:

Submitted:1. 11. 2016
Accepted: 21. 11. 2016
Published online: 31. 12. 2016

Summary

The aim of this study is to explore the psychosocial problems of the elderly and the likely measures in response to this phenomenon. A descriptive survey design is employed in this study to achieve the set objectives. The population of this study consists of all elderly persons aged 60 years and above, both male and female in Benin Metropolis, Edo State, Nigeria. The standardized questionnaire with the four point Likert type format is utilized. The simple random technique was adopted to select participants from Egor, Oliha, Uselu, Ikpoba-Hill and Oka communities of the Benin Metropolis. Sixty-two (62) elderly persons were randomly selected from each of the communities, giving a total of 372 persons that participated in the study. Face and content validation of the instrument was determined by three social workers in gerontology. The test retest reliability method was utilized at 0.5 co-efficient. Data collection was analyzed using the descriptive statistics; mean and standard deviation. The results show that the key psychosocial problem of the elderly in the Benin Metropolis is the socio-economic challenge, with the highest mean value of 2.95, social isolation accounts for 2.74, health accounts for 2.69 and emotional challenges scored the least score of 2.67. The psychosocial problem of the elderly was not restricted to any specific psychological or social variable, but rather it was established in all variables. Given the findings, potential social work intervention and implications are suggested for improving the psychosocial functioning of the elderly.

Keywords: elderly; emotional; social isolation; health; socio-economic; social work; intervention

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