The relationship between psychological health and spiritual well-being in the old age

The physical and psychosocial changes that occur in old age can negatively affect individuals' psychological health. In old age, the level of spiritual well-being can be an important factor in improving psychological health. However, studies investigating the relationship between psychological health and spiritual well-being in the elderly population in our country are quite limited. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between the spiritual well-being levels of elderly individuals and their psychological health status. This quantitative study includes 400 individuals aged 60 and over living in Istanbul. Data were collected from 400 participants determined by the quota sampling method using the Brief Symptom Inventory and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. When examining the demographic characteristics of the participants, it was found that age, income, and perceived religiosity level created significant differences in psychological health and spiritual well-being. At the same time, a significant positive correlation was found between depression, negative self-concept, somatization, and spiritual well-being. While the literature widely supports findings that spirituality improves psychological health, this study found that spiritual well-being negatively affects psychological health in elderly individuals. This suggests that spiritual well-being and psychological health in old age are influenced by different variables. Therefore, it is recommended to investigate age-specific variables that influence psychological health and spiritual well-being.