ABSTRACT

Krista Haavisto, Taru Haikonen & Milja Tani. Experiences of the elderly about their own mental well-being. 62 p., 2 appendices. Language: Finnish. Pieksämäki, Autumn 2016.

Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. Degree Programme in Social Services. Degree: Bachelor of Social Services.

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the experiences of mental well-being among the elderly and the factors affecting it. In this thesis we dealt with the current mental well-being as well as the protective and debilitating factors. We collected information about the difficult situations in life and the things that helped to cope with them. We also studied the attitudes towards the future. The purpose of this thesis was to listen to the thoughts and the experiences of the elderly. We wanted to give the elderly the opportunity to be heard. We believe that it is important to bring up this subject because of the social situation.

The study was carried out as qualitative research and the data was collected by semistructured interview. We interviewed 14 people, ten women and four men, who participated in the IkäArvokas project’s club activity in Pieksämäki. The interviewees were over 65 years old. The interviews were analysed by using content analysis.

The results of this study show that the mental well-being among the interviewees was quite good at the time of the interviews. According to the results, social relationships, networks and physical health had a great influence on the mental well-being. One significant difference between the sexes was that the men pointed out the importance of the economy, which the women did not mention. Instead, the women pointed out religion as a protective factor. The most typical difficult situations in life were losses, such as the death of a loved one, and the illness of a spouse. Social support was one of the most important things that helped coping in these situations.

Mental well-being has influence on the overall well-being of the elderly. Club activities were one remarkable factor supporting the mental well-being. We believe that there would be a greater need for activities that support both mental and physical well-being. Supporting physical functioning and preventing physical symptoms would help to keep up mental well-being. It would be necessary to organize updating education for professionals to support the mental well-being in older age.

Keywords: mental well-being, mental health, elderly, functioning, qualitative research