THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF THE AGED IN ABEOKUTA METROPOLIS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. Background of the Study

In our society today, there exists a particular group of individuals, who had come into the world as babies, had spent their entire lifetime in service to humanity, had retired from active service and are only waiting to take a final exit from the world into eternity. This group of individuals is in a stage of life known as late adulthood, a stage in life in which people are known as the elderly or referred to as the aged. This period in the life span is characterized by declines that occur in association with advanced ageing in almost all aspects of development . Late adulthood or old age commences from the age of 65 and stretches to the period of near death or process of dying. It is a period in life with unique challenges/problems.

Evidently, the elderly, who are regarded as the most vulnerable category of people in rural places, deal with a wide range of issues, from physical issues to psychological and social issues. This, according to Adeagbo (2020), is largely a result of ageing, which makes people less active, fragile, and susceptible to sickness. According to Adeagbo, among many other medical conditions, the elderly are more prone to suffering cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disorders, gastrointestinal ailments, and mental illnesses. The elderly also face a number of other issues, such as isolation, depression, abuse, poverty, unemployment, and stigma. Although older individuals typically prefer to "stay-put" in their own houses, prior research with older persons in Sweden have shown that home is a location of meaning and is a significant factor in one's perception of one's own health in old age (Dahlin-Ivanoff et al., 2007). According to Ahmed, Tomson, Petzold, and Kabir (2018), few elderly people in Nigeria today have are psychological and socially balanced, whereas a small number of wealthy and powerful people travel abroad to receive their medical care, vacations, visit their children which changes their pattern of wellbeing. Umoh (2020) averred that this stage of life is viewed as a complicated one and should address with all possible resources. He mentioned that the aged become highly dependent on others for their functioning and daily life activities in at least some cases.This is because as man grows, his reduced activities, physical health, income and resulting decline in the position of the family and society makes his life more vulnerable. All these factors contributes to the well-being of the person in many aspects including psychological, emotional and social and resulting in poor mental health.

Conversely, Psychological well-being is about lives going well. It is the combination of feeling good and functioning effectively in emotional as well as social aspects. The concept of feeling good includes not only the positive emotions of happiness and satisfaction, but also such emotions as interest, engagement, confidence, hope and affection. The concept of functioning effectively comprises the development of one’s potential, having some control over one’s life, having a sense of purpose, and experiencing positive relationships.For a better life pattern in the old age, there are several factors involved such as social and emotional support, financial and informational assistance, better health care facilities and engagement in any kind of activities which promote physical and mental health. A positive environment can gradually create enhancement in mental health and psychosocial well-being. When compared to young adults, old age is the period which needs increased support in all dimensions especially after retirement. Psychological well-being of the elderly thus have a greater important.

2. Statement of the Problem

In recent times the elderly population is the fastest growing population in our Indian societies. They generally experience a decline in their physical and cognitive abilities making them more inactive and dependent on other people’s support to keep their life healthy. They require love, emotional and social support and more care in this phase of life. Researches show that among other factors, social support is the most important in increasing psychological well-being in elderly. Social support can be considered as one of the most effective resource by which people can deal with stressful events. (^{Aduke 2010)} Social relations helps to create networking and enhance communications with others which is an effective predictor of better mental health and well-being. Social support includes not only the structural characteristics of the social network, but also the functional aspects of the networks which includes the interactions between the elements of the networks that means the people. Studies affirm that social support promotes health and hence psychological well-being.

On the contrary, lack of social interaction with others among the elderly can lead them to negative emotional states and depression. Such conditions can be occurred due to their age related health problems, retirement, etc. Like any other age groups old age also need to be psychologically fit and productive as they can make it. While looking into the protective factors of psychological well-being of elderly, there exist paucity of studies in Nigeria precisely Abeokuta on the effect of social support on the wellbeing of elderly, Against this backdrop, the study seeks to find out effects of social support on the psychological well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

3. Objectives of the study

The objective of this study is focused on the effects of social support on the psychological well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis. Other specific objectives includes:

1. To examine the effects of emotional support on the psycho-social well-being of of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

2. To examine the effects of companionship on the psycho-social well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

3. To examine the effects of information access on the psycho-social well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

4. To investigate the effects of occupational/financial services on the psycho-social well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

1. Research Questions

1. What is the effects of emotional support on the psycho-social well-being of theaged in Abeokuta

2. What is the effects of companionship on the psycho-social well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

3. What the effects of information access on the psycho-social well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

4. What is the effects of occupational/financial services on the psycho-social well-being of the of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

5. Research Hypothesis

Ho: There is no significant effect of effects of social support on the psychological well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

Hi: There is a significant effect of effects of social support on the psychological well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

6. Significance of the Study

Aging is not entirely a negative process, but old age is undoubtedly a difficult period, worsened by the inadequacy of social institutions to care for their aged. The elderly is faced with several health and social challenges which created a gap in traditional family system that caters for the well-being of aged. Findings of the study will enlighten the government of Nigeri on the need to consider establishing neighborhood adult day care centres where elderly persons can meet each other during the day which is managed by trained and qualified social workers and other health care professionals. Family members through the result of this study will be encouraged to show more love, care and attention to the elderly, bearing in mind that they too would one day become elders.Furthermore, the findings of the study will provide a framework for supportive and protective care that comprises those services provided to frail, ill, or disabled older people to support them and their caretakers maintaining their capacity to live in the community.

To the academic institutions findings of this study will provide importance strategies to assist health care providers to improve links to community support services And to student and other researchers,, the study will contribute to the general body of knowledge e and serve as a reference for scholars and student who wishes to conduct further studies in related field.

7. Scope of the Study

The study covers the effects of social support in term of emotional support, companionship, information access, occupational/financial services on the psychological well-being of the aged in Abeokuta metropolis.

8. Limitation of the Study

The researchers faced a few minor obstacles while conducting the study, just as in every scientific endeavour. Lack of literature on social support in term of emotional support, companionship, information access, occupational/financial services on the psychological well-being of the aged was a key barrier. Thus locating the pertinent resources, books, or information and the data gathering procedure took a lot of effort and organization. Additionally, the study solely covers elderl in Abeokuta metropolis, Ogun State, with limited sample size since the researcher lacked resources to cover the the whole local government, the accuracy of the result will totally base on the data provided to the researcher by the responses of elderly and their their care giver. Hence, the results of this study cannot be generalized for other state, which leaves a gap for further research.

Lastly, some of the respondents were afraid to disclose what happened and were nostalgic of their home situation. The researcher dealt with this limitation by assuring the respondents orally before administering the research instrument the anonymity and confidentiality of their shared information. The research instrument introduction also emphasized confidentiality, anonymity and the purpose of the study. However all aspects were minimized in order to deliver the best results possible and ensure the success of the research, despite the limitations that were faced during the study.

1.8 Definition of Operational terms

Elderly: Elderly refers to those who are 65 years old or older, with those 65 to 74 years old being referred to as "early elderly" and those over 75 years old being referred to as "late elderly.

Social Support: Social support is the perception and actuality that one is cared for, has assistance available from other people, and most popularly, that one is part of a supportive social network. 

Psychological Well-being: Psychological well-being” is used to describe an individual's emotional health and overall functioning.

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