Explanatory factors for worries and anxiety among elderly people of Iraq

Abstract

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is highly prevalent in the elderly and has significant
implications for the mental and physical health of this population. Despite this, few studies
have investigated the psychological factors behind the tendency to worry, worries about
aging and anxiety in elderly. Some works in the cognitive-behavioral approach show
significant links between the symptoms of GAD and psychological factors, such as
intolerance of uncertainty and erroneous beliefs about worrying in the elderly. The present
study verifies the contribution of psychological factors of different explanatory models of
GAD in the prediction of the tendency to worry, concerns about aging and symptoms of
GAD in the elderly. It takes into account socio-demographic, situational and clinical
factors related to their life context (e.g., illness, loneliness). To do this, 176 people aged 60
to 80 living in Baghdad filled out on a voluntary basis, questionnaires measuring the
variables under study. Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) has been shown to be a predictor of
general worrying tendency, specific aging concerns, and symptoms of GAD. Erroneous
beliefs about worrying have been shown to be significant predictors of the tendency to
worry and symptoms of GAD. Experiential avoidance has been shown to be a significant
predictor of the tendency to worry. Finally, emotional regulation strategies have been
shown to be significant predictors of GAD symptoms. These results offer explanatory
avenues for better understanding the specific roles of (IU) and other psychological factors
such as erroneous beliefs about worrying, experiential avoidance as well as emotional
regulation strategies in predicting heart failure.