Abstract

Pre-retirement anxiety is a challenge facing about-to-retire officers. It is a state of fear and uneasiness from active work-life that is associated with Federal Road Safety (FRS) officers. Past studies on pre-retirement anxiety among FRS officers concentrated on causal factors with little intervention. This study, therefore, investigated the challenges of pre-retirement anxiety within the context of FRS officers in the Edo zone, comprising Anambra, Delta, and Edo states, Nigeria, with cognizance of their occupational stressors, cultural factors, and individual experiences. The study was anchored to continuity theory of retirement, while a mixed methods approach was employed to access anxiety levels and psychological wellbeing as well as qualitative interviews to explore the experiences and perceptions of some of the officers undergoing therapy. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the 30 retiring participants (less than five years) into the groups. Participants with 60% and above score on retirement anxiety screening tool with their consent were used in the study. The instruments used were the pre-retirement anxiety (α=.90) and social support (α =.70) scales. Hypotheses were raised and tested. Data were analysed using the analysis of covariance and the Scheffe post-hoc test at the 0.05 level of significance. Results revealed the effectiveness of person-centred therapy in managing the pre-retirement anxiety of the officers. There was no interaction effect of treatment, gender, or social support on the pre-retirement anxiety of the officers. Person-centred therapy was effective in managing pre-retirement anxiety among FRS officers. Counselling psychologists should adopt this intervention when handling issues related to pre-retirement anxiety.