Gender, Age, Religion and Positive Mental Health Among Adolescents in a Ghanaian Socio-Cultural Context

Wilson, Angelina; Somhlaba, Nceba Z.

doi:10.1007/s12187-017-9495-2

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…This explains why females have a higher likelihood of experiencing mental health challenges, especially emotional and peer problems. Other studies have observed similar findings and linked it to the high predisposition of females to depressive disorders [31,41,42].…”

Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 68%

“…However, belief in supernatural causes of mental illness is not limited to Ghana alone but extends even to health professionals in industrialized countries like the United States, China and Brazil [48]. Although treatments meted to persons who seek spiritual intervention, for instance in prayer camps, are generally inhuman [49], religious support is known to influence hope, life satisfaction and emotional well-being [31] and could therefore be harnessed to promote mental health.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies relating to the mental health of school-going adolescents and youths enrolled in basic, second cycle and tertiary institutions in Ghana abound. Herein, issues including bullying and victimisation, abuse of alcohol and illicit drugs, as well as academic stress, depression, suicidal behaviours and gender dynamics have received much research attention in recent times [29][30][31][32][33]. However, many of these studies are concentrated among adolescents in urban centres.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mental health difficulties, coping mechanisms and support systems among school-going adolescents in Ghana: A mixed-methods study

et al. 2021

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Background Although adolescents are highly vulnerable to mental health challenges, they receive little attention, especially in developing countries. We investigated the mental health difficulties (MHDs) faced by adolescent students in four senior high schools in Ghana, their coping strategies and support systems. Methods In this convergent mixed-methods study, quantitative data was obtained using validated strengths and difficulties questionnaire to assess the mental health of 405 adolescents. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth interview with 18 teachers and seven focused group discussions with 35 students. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) for MHDs were estimated through ordinal logistic regression in Stata 14.2. Qualitative data was analyzed inductively and deductively using ATLAS.ti 7.1. Results Over half (58.5%) experienced peer (20.5%), emotional (16.3%), conduct (13.3%) and hyperactivity (3.0%) problems, whereas 5.4% exhibited prosocial behaviours. MHDs were associated with females (OR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.47–3.50), bullying (OR = 1.72, CI: 1.07–2.75), domestic violence (OR = 1.87, CI: 1.10–3.17), substance abuse (OR = 8.14, CI: 1.41–46.8), academic pressure (OR = 2.40, CI: 1.30–4.42) and self-perceived poor school performance (OR = 7.36 CI: 2.83–19.16). Qualitatively, we identified financial challenges, spiritual influences, intimate relationships, bullying, and domestic violence as the main themes attributed to MHDs. Coping strategies included isolation, substance use and spiritual help. The main school-based support system was the guidance and counselling unit, but there were complaints of it been ineffective due to trust and confidentially issues, and non-engagement of qualified counsellors. Conclusions As many triggers of MHDs emanate in schools, we need mental health-friendly school environments where trained psychotherapists head counselling centres. We propose incorporating mental health education into school curricula and generating surveillance data on adolescent’s mental health.

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Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mental health difficulties, coping mechanisms and support systems among school-going adolescents in Ghana: A mixed-methods study

et al. 2021

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“…Age differences in wellbeing have also been found in Ghanaian samples, with older children reporting lower levels of mental illness (Glozah & Pevalin, 2017) and higher school enjoyment (Cebotari et al, 2018). However, also in Ghana, researchers have observed no age differences in children's life satisfaction or happiness (Cebotari et al, 2018), hope, emotional wellbeing, and life satisfaction (Wilson & Somhlaba, 2018).…”

Section: Concurrent and Predictive Validitymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This result also maps well onto ethnographic observations of rural Sierra Leonian communities (Devine et al, in press, b), that girls are more heavily acculturated into domestic helping roles from an early age, than boys are. In studies conducted in Ghana, Glozah and Pevalin (2017) found that girls reported better mental health than males on average, and Wilson and Somhlaba (2018) found that males had higher levels of hope than girls. However, also in Ghana, Cebotari et al (2018) did not find any gender differences in children's life satisfaction or happiness.…”

Section: Concurrent and Predictive Validitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Social Evolutionary Measure of Child and Adolescent Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing in Rural Sierra Leone

et al. 2021

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The study establishes the validity of a new measure of child and adolescent hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing designed for international use and based on social evolutionary theory. The measure advances the fields of psychometrics and happiness studies by providing the first a-contextual assessment of both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing that is suitable for use with children and adolescents. The Child and Adolescent Personal and Social Assessment of Wellbeing contains a brief measure (8-items) of children’s global hedonia and eudaimonia, and domain specific measures (8-items each) of children’s wellbeing in relation to peers, teachers, and families. To develop the measure, we conducted a mixed methods investigation in rural Sierra Leone. We researched the ecological validity of the conceptual framework in a qualitative study of 40 participants (19 children and 21 adults) living in two communities. We developed the quantitative items through a two-phase pilot study of 200 children living in ten communities. We examined the psychometric properties of the measure in the pilot study data, and in a larger dataset generated with 2324 children living in 95 communities. The qualitative results showed that the participants experienced the framework components (e.g., social acceptance) in their daily lives, and that each component was intertwined with indigenous perspectives on child wellbeing. The quantitative results demonstrated that the measure had good dimensional, concurrent, and predictive validity.

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Cultures of Positivity: Interconnectedness as a Way of Being

Wissing

Schutte

Fadiji

2019

International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life

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Gender, Age, Religion and Positive Mental Health Among Adolescents in a Ghanaian Socio-Cultural Context

Cited by 13 publications

References 80 publications

Mental health difficulties, coping mechanisms and support systems among school-going adolescents in Ghana: A mixed-methods study

Mental health difficulties, coping mechanisms and support systems among school-going adolescents in Ghana: A mixed-methods study

Developing a Social Evolutionary Measure of Child and Adolescent Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing in Rural Sierra Leone

Cultures of Positivity: Interconnectedness as a Way of Being

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