Comparison of Distress Tolerance, Coping Styles, Spiritual Intelligence and Happiness among Elderly Men and Women

Elderly is a period of human growth that is accompanied by various ups and downs, while the different responses of elderly men and women in their old ages to different situations can lead to maintaining or falling of their mental health. The present study is conducted to compare distress tolerance, coping styles, spiritual intelligence and happiness among elderly men and women in the city of Ahwaz. The research sample consists of 380 people (190 women and 190 men) selected by convenience sampling method. Measurement tools are Simmons and Gaher's The Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), short version of The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS™) by Calsbeek, Henegouwen, and Dekker, Integrated Spiritual Intelligence Scale (ISIS) by Amram and Dryer, and The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) by Argyle and Hills. The method of this descriptive study is of causal-comparative, and the analysis of the data carried out with the help of Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), shows that there is a significant difference between male and female elderly in terms of distress absorption and distress assessment, problem-oriented, excitement-oriented and avoidance-oriented coping styles, as well as spiritual intelligence and happiness components (P