Middle-Aged Couples Educational Needs for Psychological Well-Being: A Mixed Method Study

Abstract

Purpose: To explore and identify priorities of middle-aged couples’ educational needs for psychological well-being.Methods: Exploratory sequential mixed method design was used. Qualitative data were collected from 14 couples through couple interviews and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Quantitative data were collected from 234 middle-aged adults using self-administered questionnaires and analyzed using paired t-test and Borichs’ needs assessment model. Finally, qualitative and quantitative data were integrated to describe mixed-method findings.Results: Three major themes were identified: (1) confronting vulnerability to mental health problem, (2) navigating lifes journey together, and (3) progressing toward self-transcendence. In quantitative results, “couple communication” had the highest need, followed by “mental health”, the “emotional awareness and expression”, and “improvement of marital relationships”. Integrated results indicated that couple-communication and mental health were priority needs.Conclusion: Results of this study provided evidence for middle-aged couples educational needs for psychological well-being. Thus, healthcare professionals need to consider development of educational interventions to enhance couple communication and mental health for middle-aged couples psychological well-being.