Correlation of mental disorders with religious attitude and mental health among the elderly of Ilam city

The elderly are susceptible to mental disorders due to poor physical and mental ability, loss of relatives and poor social communication. Mental health and religious attitudes are factors that may be associated with mental disorders in the elderly. This research was aimed to explore the relationship of mental disorders with mental health and religious attitudes among the elderly.

This descriptive, correlational study was conducted on 400 elderly in Ilam, Iran, who were selected by convenience sampling. Data were collected by the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and Religious Attitude Questionnaire (Gloris-Brahni). The obtained data were analyzed by PASW software using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression analysis. P<0.05 was considered significant.

The results showed a significant correlation between mental disorders and mental health (P=0.003, r=0.147) and religious attitude (P=0.001, r=-0.187). The results of regression analysis to predict mental disorders based on the predictor variables indicated that religious attitude could predict 4.6% of mental disorders in the Kurdish elderly. In the next steps, the marital status, gender and mental health variables were included in the model, which could generally predict 8.2% of changes in mental disorders among the elderly of Ilam city.

Religious attitude and mental health could predict mental disorders in the elderly. It seems necessary to gain a better understanding of the risk factors of mental disorders in the elderly to design interventional programs and to identify the people at risk.