Page No 300-308
H.K.Laldinpuii Fente
Mizoram University
Lalthantluangi Sailo
Pachhunga University College, Mizoram
That too much stress adversely affects mental well-being is now a well-known fact. An
often-recommended antidote to such a connection is social participation. However, is
this true for every gender and at every age? With such a question, this study investigated
the role of social participation in the relationship between perceived stress and emotional
well-being among participants from the elderly population in a strongly collectivistic
culture of the Mizo in Mizoram, India. Social Participation, Perceived Stress and
Emotional Well-being were measured using Levels of Group Participation Scale by
Rasmussen, Perceived Stress Scale by Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein, and Adult
Mental Health Continuum – Short Form by Keyes respectively among 204 (102 male
and 102 female) representative sample of the young-old elderlies in Aizawl, the capital
city of Mizoram, following a multistage systematic random sampling procedure. Results
revealed a significant positive correlation between social participation and emotional
well-being for young-old women but not for men, and a significant negative correlation
between perceived stress and emotional well-being for both young-old men and women.
Moderation analyses indicated that the relationship between Perceived Stress and
Emotional Well-being was significantly moderated by Social Participation for young
old elderly Mizo women only and not for men. Implications from the study are indicative
that social participation, though known to be conducive to mental health, may not
facilitate mental health at every level of social participation, especially for the young
old elderly as found in this study. The results are discussed with respect to life
circumstances and cultural factors of young-old elderly population in a strongly
collectivistic culture of the Mizo