Prevalence on Witchcraft Beliefs and The Psychological Well-Being of Elderly People in Masaba South Sub-County Kisii County Kenya

Abstract

Witchcraft is a world phenomenon. Some people do belief in it on their daily life and this has brought a lot of anxiety, fear from the threats given to the victims. This study investigated the prevalence on witchcraft beliefs and psychological well-being of elderly people in Nyakumbati Sub-location in Masaba South Sub-count, Kisii County Kenya. The study adopted a mixed method approach; a convergent parallel design was employed to enable the researcher investigate the relationship between prevalence on witchcraft beliefs and the psychological well-being of elderly people. Simple random sampling was employed to select a sample of 164 respondents from the 280 elderly people receiving cash transfer from the Kenyan Government in Nyakumbati Sub-location. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using statistical Software Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient was used to ensure reliability of research instruments. The findings indicate that majority of the elderly People belief in witchcraft (56.3%). Many elderly people (48.3%) agreed that beliefs in witchcraft have interfered with relationships in the community. Also majority of the elderly people (60.3%) agreed that Witchcraft practices are dangerous in the community. Witchcraft practices are feared within the community this was taken by 61.6% of the respondents. At the same time majority of the elderly people (62.3%) agreed that Witchcraft practices are carried in hidden manners and finally 41.7% of the elderly stated that they are vulnerable to witchcraft activities. The findings on the relationship between psychological well-being and witchcraft beliefs show that there was: a weak relationship of 0.061 on self-acceptance, a moderate relationship of 0.331 on positive relations and a moderate relationship of 0.530 on purpose in life. The final findings show that there is a weak relationship between prevalence on witchcraft beliefs and the psychological well-being of elderly people. The study recommends and appeals to government leaders, educators and church stakeholders to strive further towards addressing witchcraft related issues. Additionally, social workers, counselors and psychologists should be assigned through the cooperation of church and government to cater for the psychological well-being of the elderly people in the community.