Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study the relationship between the religious beliefs and the feeling of loneliness in elderly. In this descriptive correlation study, the statistical society included 100 individuals of the society of retired people in the Medical University of Gilan province in Iran. The sample was taken by the easy random method. The method of collecting data was the questionnaire contained 3 parts: 1) personal characteristics and social characteristics. 2) Allport’s internal and external religious beliefs scale and 3) the Standard loneliness feeling of You care. Data was analyzed by means of the description and presumption statistical methods and use of the SPSS software. The findings showed that there is a meaningful correlation between the external religious beliefs and the marital status, the amount of income, socialization with family members and relatives, social activities and also between the internal religious beliefs and the attending in the religious gatherings, the emotional support of the family, friends, and the others and the general satisfaction of the mentioned supports with P<0.05 and finally with the use of the nonparametric testes, a meaningful relationship has been found between the religious beliefs and the feeling of loneliness with P<0.001. Thus this study shows that the religious believes as an important source of support in aged people, can help them to be healthier physically and psychologically and it is essential to consider it for the mental health educational plans. Keywords: Relationship, Religious beliefs, Loneliness feeling, Elderly.