Association between happiness and psychopathology in an elderly regional rural population in Crete.

Association between happiness and psychopathology in an elderly regional rural population in Crete. Psychiatriki. 2019 Oct-Dec;30(4):299-310 Authors: Nikolakakis N, Dragioti E, Paritsis N, Tsamakis K, Christodoulou NG, Rizos EN Abstract Research has shown that socio-demographic profile and psychopathology symptoms are related to levels of happiness in old age. The aims of this cross-sectional study were: 1) to investigate the effect of recent stressful life events and socio-demographic factors on psychopathological symptoms in elderly residents in mountain regions of Crete, Greece and 2) to explore the mechanism which underlies the relationship between socio-demographic factors and psychopathological symptoms, with levels of happiness in old age. To this end, we used the nine psychopathology dimensions of symptoms as defined in the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90), while the Holmes and Rahe stress inventory was administered to quantify the stressful life events. A sample of 205 elderly men and women (age=77.1±6.7 years) living in 10 remote rural and isolated villages participated in this study. Data was collected through questionnaires completed upon individual meetings with each participant, with the interviewer's assistance. Each questionnaire included the two aforesaid scales alongside questions on individual socio-demographic characteristics. Analysis of variance was applied to detect socio-demographic factors that have a signifi...
Source: Psychiatriki - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Psychiatriki Source Type: research