Ageing Happily in Ghana: How Does Social Inclusion Contribute?

Autor: Gyasi RM; African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.; National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia., Hajek A; Department  of  Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Hamburg, Germany., Asante F; Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Accam BT; Department of Mathematics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Osei-Tutu S; Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Rahmati M; Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran., Hervie VM; Department of Social Work, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana., Abass K; Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana., Phillips DR; Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, China.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Psychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society [Psychogeriatrics] 2023 Sep; Vol. 23 (5), pp. 821-830. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jul 12.
DOI: 10.1111/psyg.13004
Abstrakt: Background: Promoting happiness has become increasingly important in old age for a wide range of reasons. In this study, we aim to examine the association between social inclusion (SI) and happiness among older adults in Ghana and identify the mediating factors.
Methods: The study included 1201 community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 (mean age = 66.4 ± SD 11.9 years; 63.3% female) from the 2016-2018 Ageing, Health, Psychological Well-being, and Health-seeking Behaviour Study. We assessed happiness with a self-rated and cross-culturally validated item on a five-point scale. SI was operationalised using the modified Berkman-Syme Social Network Index. The hypothesised associations were evaluated by hierarchical regressions and bootstrapping techniques from Hayes' PROCESS macro programme.
Results: The prevalence of happiness was 24.3% (all of the time), 43.6% (most of the time), 28.3% (little of the time), and 3.7% (none of the time). After controlling for potential confounders, higher SI was associated with increased levels of happiness (odds ratio (OR) = 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16-2.51). Aside from family/friends contacts, all other SI domains positively influenced happiness (OR = 1.45-1.81). The link between SI and happiness was mediated by depressive symptoms (65.2%), generalised anxiety (30.1%), and sleep problems (9.5%).
Conclusions: Our data suggest that psychological factors may largely explain the positive SI-happiness link. Efforts should target these factors to promote happiness in old age. Longitudinal analysis may confirm our findings.
(© 2023 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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