A Study of the Effect of Institutionalization and Spousal Bereavement on the Sense of Humor, Feeling of Alienation and Existential Regret in the Elderly

The present study was undertaken to examine the differences in sense of humor, feeling of alienation and existential regret between elderly persons who lived at home and those who live in old age homes, and between those elderly who had faced spousal bereavement and those who had not. Data was collected from 120 elderly persons aged 60 and above. 30 elderly from old age home, 30 elderly living at their residence, 30 elderly who have faced spousal bereavement and 30 elderly who have not faced spousal bereavement. The Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale, The Dean’s Alienation Scale and The Multidimensional Existential Regret Inventory were used to measure sense of humor, feeling of alienation and existential regret respectively. Six t tests were used. After statistical analysis no significant differences were found in the sense of humor, feeling of alienation and existential regret between elderly living at home and those living in old age homes or between elderly who had faced spousal bereavement and those elderly who had not.