Stressful life events and perceived stress among elderly people living separately from their adult children

A community-based cross-sectional comparative study was conducted to identify the common psychosocial stresses and to compare the level of perceived stress between elderly people living separately from their adult children and elderly people living with their adult children or family members in the community. A total of 200 elderly people (100 elderly living with their adult children and 100 elderly living separately in the community) were randomly selected and were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule consisting of the socio-demographic profile, Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale (PSLES), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). A significant difference (p>0.05) was found in the PSS scores and PLSES scores of the elderly living alone. The elderly living separately from their adult children in the community were more prone to negative stressful life events and high perceived stress.