Social Support and Mental Ill Health Among Older Housewives

The life expectancy of both men and women has gradually been increasing in the past few decades due to improvement in medical facilities and its availability to larger number of people leading to an increase in the proportion of elderly people in the population. However, factors like the fast pace of life, smaller family norm, breaking of joint family system, and industrialisation are leading to conditions where despite lengthening of survival, maintenance of mental health of elderly people especially that of women is not receiving as much attention as required. In the literature, the elderly women in general and elderly housewives in particular have so far been neglected. The present study, hence, aims at assessing the perception of received social support and mental ill health of elderly housewives in the age range of fifty years and above. Correlational analysis revealed that high levels of companionship as well as emotional support was associated with lower levels of obsessive traits and symptoms, somatic concomitant anxiety, neurotic depression and overall mental ill health only within older. Women (60 year) however, no significant association between social support and measures of mental ill health existed in less eldary (50-60yrs) women. Results seem to suggest the importance of companionship and emotional support for maintenance of mental health for older housewives. Results have been analysed in view of the changes in the familial and social conditions of the housewives as they grow older and suggestions for improving the quality of their lives have been given.