Psychological Resilience and Adaptation Difficulties in Older Adults

Abstract

Aim:Mental health structural characteristics, such as psychological resilience, in addition to the physical and social losses which occur with ageing are effective in providing adaptation to the changes that occur in the normal ageing process.Materials and Methods:The study was conducted with 200 individuals aged 60 years and above, and living in İstanbul. Data were collected using a Socio-demographic Form, Assessment Scale of Adaptation Difficulty for the Elderly, and the Resilience Scale for Adults.Results:According to the results of this study, as psychological resilience increased, difficulty in adaptation to ageing decreased. The study results demonstrated that female gender, advanced age, and not being married constituted disadvantages in respect of both psychological resilience and adaptation difficulty, while a high income and literacy reduced difficulty in adaptation to ageing.Conclusion:Measures to increase psychological resilience may be beneficial to reduce adaptation difficulties due to aging.

Keywords

• mental health
• aging
• adaptation difficulty
• psychological resilience
• geropsychiatry