Symptoms of Depression as Expressed by Elderly Persons in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Many elderly persons suffer from numerous types of psychosomatic problems ranging from health, psychological, social, depression, loneliness to economic problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate symptoms of depression as expressed by the elderly in Ibadan metropolis. Systematic sampling procedure was employed to select 265 elderly persons who are retired to participate in the study. Relevant data were collected using a questionnaire titled “Adapted Version of Evans Liverpool Depression Rating Scale” (AVELDRS). The t-test and One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics were used to test the five null hypotheses generated. The findings revealed that there was no significant difference in the symptoms of depression expressed by elderly persons on the basis of religious affiliation. The study further indicated that there were significant differences among the respondents in the symptoms of depression expressed based on sex, age, marital status and state of health. Based on these findings, it was recommended that counselors and relations of the elderly persons should provide the psychological nourishment such as food, clothing and shelter they need. A model of comprehensive counseling programme should be developed for the elderly persons to live a
fulfilled life.

Keywords: Depression, symptoms, elderly persons, Nigeria

Nigerian Journal of Guidance and Counselling Vol. 13 (1) 2008: pp. 129-142