Comparison of mental health, self-efficacy and life expectancy between retired women and non-employed women in Kermanshah

the present study designed and conducted to compare mental health, self-efficacy and life expectancy in retired women and non-employed women in Kermanshah.

The present study was a descriptive and causal-comparative study with the participation of 200 people (100 retired women and 100 non-employed women) in Kermanshah in 2019.

Kolmogorov-Smirnov test showed that the distribution of scores in the population was normal for the research variables. Mental health was not good for all participants. Both groups had good self-efficacy. However, the life expectancy of non-employed women was lower than desired, and this figure seemed desirable in retired employed women. Findings of the present study showed that mental health, self-efficacy and life expectancy were significantly higher in retired women than in non-employed women (p<0.001).

The findings of this study showed that retired women have better mental health status than non-employed women. Due to the positive and significant relationship between life expectancy and social support and the dimensions of family, friends and colleagues and, due to the high level of social support in working people, increasing life expectancy in retired women makes sense to non-employed women. Considering the relationship between employment and mental health, planning to hold training courses focusing on mental health, creating agencies on ageing, strengthening women's social cooperation and appropriate entrepreneurship can be considered to prevent many ageing problems.