A Study of Perceived Stress and Loneliness in Older People with Depression

It has been documented that elderly are more prone to psychological problems and depression is the commonest geriatric psychiatric disorders. In fact, the elderly in India face a multitude of psychological, social and physical health problems. In a cross-sectional study, it was found that in persons of 65 years and older, the perceived adequacy of emotional and tangible support was clearly associated with depressive symptoms. Aim and Objective: To study the relationship between Perceived Stress and Loneliness in Older People with and without Depression. Sample and Methodology: This study comprised of 60 (30 with depression and 30 without depression) participants of age 60 years or above. The sample was selected with purposive incidental sampling technique. Material used: Geriatric Depression Scale- 30, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and UCLA-loneliness scale were administered after taking consent from the participants. Results: Result shows the comparison of means between depressive (case-group) and non-depressive (control-group) as per the scores on Perceived Stress Scale and University of California Log Angeles Loneliness Scale. On UCLA-loneliness scale, the scores of depressive group were found to be statistically significant at 0.01 levels (t-value 19.547) in comparison to non-depressive group and on Perceived Stress Scale, the scores of depressive groups were also found to be statistically significant at 0.01 levels (t-value 14.716) in comparison to non-depressive group. Conclusion: In brief, the findings of the study show that perceived stress and loneliness are the contributory factors of depression. It has also been observed that depressed people perceive more stress, loneliness than non-depressed older people.