Impact of Retirement on Mental Health

I. Rationale

Transition from work to retirement is a major life event in most people’s lives. Some
people feel relaxed because they are free from stress while others appear not to have
resources to refashion their lives and experience loss of self-worth once they stop
working.

Salami (2010) states that retirement is an event involving a major lifestyle change,
and the mainstream psychology literature views it as potentially stressful life events
where a person feels discriminated from society and has to undergo numerous
readjustments. In addition, a strand of the sociology literature – the so-called “role
theory” (Mead (1934))– maintains the idea that work provides a sense of identity, worth
and fulfilment for the individual; hence, retirement may lead to loss of a social role, and
emotional distress. Further, exiting employment often results in a drop in the income
available to an individual or a family, and several studies have shown that insufficient
financial resources are related to lower life satisfaction and subjective well-being
(Diener et al. (1992)).

At the same time, however, others believe that withdrawal from work is a beneficial
life change. Retirement dramatically increases the leisure time available to the retiree,
which may offset the loss of income to cause a net favorable effect on psychological
well-being. In addition, a job may be stressful, dissatisfying and strenuous to the
individual; hence, retirement would work towards preserving emotional health. Further,
a competing theory to the social role theory – the continuity theory (e.g., Atchley (1999))
– hypothesizes that the elderly will typically maintain their earlier lifestyle activities,
relationships, and identity, even after exiting their jobs; hence, they need not experience
any loss of self-worth after retirement. This would mean that they can utilize their
experiences, skills and knowledge in very personally rewarding ways by becoming
involved in volunteer work and other activities. Lastly, retirees often get engaged in
volunteering and charity work, which has been linked to lower depression rates (Lum
and Lightfood (2005)).

In the Philippines, there are two types of retirement: (a) compulsory and (b) optional
retirement. The legally mandated age for compulsory retirement is 65 years, while the
set minimum age for optional retirement is 60 years. Since these retired employees are
prone to stress their Mental Health is an area of serious concern because of the
increasing prevalence of mental breakdown and suicides among the elderly (Sethi,
1982). While there is little data on the incidence of suicide among older people in the
Philippines, University of the Philippines Professor Clarita Carlos noted that the figure
has been steadily increasing for the past several years. Therefore, this study would help
in understanding the factors that influence people’s well-being in retirement.
 II. Purpose of Study (Specific Objectives)

The main purpose of the study is to know the impact of retirement in psychological
well-being of elderly population. Specifically, this study intends:

1. To know the demographic profile of optional retirees, compulsory retirees

and retiring employees

2. To determine and compare life satisfaction of optional retirees, compulsory

retirees and retiring employees

3. To evaluate and compare self-esteem among optional retirees, compulsory

retirees and retiring employees

4. To identify symptoms of depression in optional retirees, compulsory

retirees and retiring employees

5. To determine gender differences of optional retirees, compulsory retirees

and retiring employees in the areas of life satisfaction and self esteem

6. To know differences in marital status, socio-economic status and number of

dependents of optional retirees, compulsory retirees and retiring employees
on depression scale

III. Research Questions

This study intends to explore the impact of retirement in mental health of elderly
population. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

a. Gender
b. Marital status
c. Socioeconomic status
d. Number of dependents
e. No. of years retired

2. Do compulsory, optional retirees and retiring employees differ on life

satisfaction?

3. Do compulsory, optional retirees and retiring employees differ on self-esteem?

4. Do compulsory, optional retirees and retiring employees have symptoms of

depression?
 5. Do compulsory, optional retirees and retiring employees differ in the areas of
life satisfaction and self-esteem grouped by gender?

6. Do compulsory, optional retirees and retiring employees differ in depression

scale grouped by different classifications of marital status, socio-economic
status and number of dependents?

IV. Methods to be used to answer the research questions

Research Design

The present study is an exploratory research used to investigate a problem which

is not clearly defined. It is conducted to have a better understanding of the existing
problem, but will not provide conclusive results.

Samples and Sampling Techniques

The researcher used a purposive sampling technique since the researcher set a
certain criterion to the respondents who can participate in the study. Twenty (20)
Optional retirees, twenty (20) Compulsory retirees and another twenty (20) retiring
employees from different agencies and private companies were the respondents of this
study.

Research Instrument

1. Sociodemographic survey includes the following variables: age, marital status

and socio economic status, number of dependents and number of years retired

2. Satisfaction with Life Scale is designed to measure global cognitive judgments of

one’s life satisfaction. Participants indicate how much they agree or disagree with
each of the 5 items using a 7-point scale that ranges from 7 strongly agree to 1
strongly disagree.

3. Rosenberg Self -Esteem Scale measures global self-worth by measuring both

positive and negative feelings about the self. The scale is believed to be uni-
dimensional. All items are answered using a 4-point Likert scale format ranging
from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

4. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) s a 30-item self-report assessment used to

identify depression in the elderly. Users are asked to respond by answering yes
or no in reference to how they felt over the past week.
Data Gathering Procedures

After selecting standardized instruments to be used, the researcher started data

gathering through individually approaching the retirees and employees who will retire
with a request letter to cooperate for the study. They were also presented with a
consent form in which they were informed of their right to withdraw at any given point
and their identity would remain anonymous. Prior to start of the test, all participants
were provided a demographic survey to know their basic information. After that,
participants were given standardized tests such as Satisfaction with Life Scale,
Rosenberg Self -Esteem Scale and Geriatric Depression Scale. The test administration
was conducted from June to October 2019 in a close room to protect participant’s
privacy and minimize interruptions.

Data Analysis

Data was analyzed through the application of the following statistical data analysis
approaches. The level of significance for acceptance was set at .05 levels.

a. T-test used to determine whether there is a significant difference between the

means of two groups

b. One - way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to to test if two or more
groups differ from each other significantly in one or more characteristics.

c. Description of variables was performed using absolute and relative frequencies,

as well as mean and standard deviation

Working Bibliography

https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/retirement-and-mental-health/