Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies

Abstract
Background & Objectives: Elderly people, in addition to the biological and physiological changes that occur in their body, with important life events such as the death of family or friends, relocation and withdrawal from daily activities, and changes in social relationships and economic problems are faced. Given the above facts, older people's mental health is one of the most fundamental variables under study in the last decade. It needs comprehensive research to prevent, treat, and increase psychological well–being in health. Many psychological variables may be effective in creating and improving older people's mental health. Among these cases, we can mention inconsistent schemas and perfectionism. This study investigated the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and negative perfectionism with general health in older people of Anzali Port, Iran.
Methods: The present study was analytical–correlational. The statistical population of this study comprised all elderly people living in a nursing home under the auspices of the Welfare of Anzali Port. Upon inquiry from the Welfare Office, their number was estimated at 211 people. Of them, a sample of 92 people (43 women and 49 men) was selected by the available sampling method. The reason for choosing 92 people was the lack of cooperation of other elderly people. To conduct the research, after the necessary coordination with the staff and the head of the care center for the elderly in Anzali Port, Young Schema Questionnaire (Young & Brown, 1998), Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost et al., 1990), and General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg & Hillier, 1979) were provided to the elderly, and they were asked to carefully study the questions and choose the most appropriate answer and not leave the question unanswered as much as possible. The data were analyzed using descriptive (mean, standard deviation, lowest score, highest score, frequency, and frequency percentage) and inferential statistics, including the Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression test at a significance level of 0.01 in SPSS version 27 software.
Results: The analysis showed a significant inverse relationship between early maladaptive schemas and general health (p<0.001, r=–0.845). There was also a significant and inverse relationship between negative perfectionism and general health (p<0.001, r =–0.868). Also, the pattern of the effect of early maladaptive schemas (p<0.001, β=–0.393) and negative perfectionism (p<0.001, β=–0.538) on mental health was significant. Adjusted R² was equal to 0.79, which showed that early maladaptive schemas and negative perfectionism predicted 79% of the variance in general health.
Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, early maladaptive schemas and negative perfectionism play a significant role in reducing the general health of older people.