Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T08:25:46.844Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Social support networks and psychological wellbeing in community-dwelling older Ghanaian cohorts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 October 2018

Razak M. Gyasi Open the ORCID record for Razak M. Gyasi [Opens in a new window] ,
David R. Phillips  and
Kabila Abass
Razak M. Gyasi*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, Hong Kong (SAR), China Centre for Social Policy and Social Change, Lingnan University, Hong Kong (SAR), China
David R. Phillips
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, Hong Kong (SAR), China
Kabila Abass
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Razak M. Gyasi, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, 8 Castle Peak Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong (SAR), China. Phone: +85251339954. Fax: +85224560737. Email: [email protected]/[email protected].
Get access

Abstract

Background:

Social support networks for older persons have been related to health outcomes including differences in psychological wellbeing (PWB). However, the specifics of this relationship remain unclear especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the (1) relationship between aspects of social support and PWB among older persons in Ghana and (2) the extent to which this relationship is moderated by their education levels and locational characteristics.

Method:

The study included 1,200 community-residing individuals aged 50 years and older who participated in an Aging, Health, Psychological Wellbeing and Health-seeking Behavior Study (AHPWHB) conducted between July 2016 and February 2017. Logistic regression models evaluated the associations of social support and their interactions with education and locational variables in PWB.

Results:

Several aspects of meaningful social support: family/friends contacts ( β = 0.958, p < 0.05), couple focused ( β = 0.887, p < 0.001), emotional bonds ( β = 0.658, p < 0.005), attending social events ( β = 0.519, p < 0.001) and remittances from children ( β = 0.394, p < 0.005) significantly related to improved PWB in later life. These associations remained robust and largely strengthened after accounting for respondents’ background and health-related factors. Education and locational characteristics substantially influenced the associations between social support and PWB.

Conclusion:

These findings suggest that especially in terms of PWB, aspects of meaningful social support networks are critical elements in later life. Strengthening opportunities for closer interpersonal relations with older persons may enhance their mental health, quality of life and independence.

Keywords

Ghanaolder personssocial supportpsychological wellbeingremittancessocial policypublic health
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 31 , Issue 7: Issue Theme: Diverse Approaches to Stemming Cognitive Decline , July 2019 , pp. 1047 - 1057
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adli, M. (2011). Urban stress and mental health. LSE Cities, An International Centre supported by Deutsche Bank. https://lsecities.net/media/objects/articles/urban-stress-and-mental-health/en-gb/.Google Scholar
Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, Stress and Coping. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Antonucci, T. C. (1990). Social supports and social relationships. In: Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences (pp. 205–226). New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Antonucci, T. C., Ajrouch, K. J. and Birditt, K. S. (2014). The convoy model: explaining social relations from a multidisciplinary perspective. Gerontologist, 54, 82–92. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnt118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Antonucci, T. C. and Akiyama, H. (1987). An examination of sex differences in social support among older men and women. Sex Roles, 17, 737–749. doi: 10.1007/bf00287685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Antonucci, T. C., Birditt, K. S., Sherman, C. W. and Trinh, S. (2011). Stability and change in the intergenerational family: a convoy approach. Ageing Society, 31, 1084–1106. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X1000098X.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anzoategui, D., Demirguc-Kunt, A. and Peria, M. S. M. (2014). Remittances and financial inclusion: evidence from El Salvador. World Development, 54, 338–349. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.10.006.Google Scholar
Biritwum, R. B., Mensah, G., Yawson, A. and Minicuci, N. (2013). Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) Wave 1: The Ghana National Report. Geneva: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Cantor, M. H. (1979). Neighbours and friends: an overlooked resource in the informal support system. Research on Ageing, 1, 434–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chi, I. and Chou, K. L. (2001). Social support and depression among elderly Chinese people in Hong Kong. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 52, 231–252. doi: 10.2190/v5k8-cnmg-g2up-37qv.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Choi, S.-J. (2000). Ageing in Korea: issues and policies. In: Phillips, D. R. (ed.), Ageing in the Asia-Pacific Region (pp. 223–242). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Chou, K. L. and Chi, I. (2005). Reciprocal relationship between pain and depression in elderly Chinese primary care patients. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20, 945–952. doi: 10.1002/gps.1383.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, S. and McKay, G. (1984). Social support, stress and the buffering hypothesis: a theoretical analysis. In: Baum, A., Taylor, S. E., and Singer, J. E. (eds.), Handbook of Psychology and Health (Vol. IV, pp. 253–267). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Fiori, K. L., Antonucci, T. C. and Cortina, K. S. (2006). Social network typologies and mental health among older adults. Journal of Gerontology, 61, P25–P32. doi: 10.1093/geronb/61.1.p25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fuhrer, R. and Stansfeld, S. A. (2002). How gender impacts patterns of social relations and their impact on health: a comparison of one or multiple sources of support from “close persons.” Social Science and Medicine, 54, 811–825. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(01)00111-3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). (2012). Population and Housing Census, 2010 Summary of Report of Final Results. Accra: Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).Google Scholar
Gyasi, R. M. (2018). Ageing, health and health-seeking behaviour in Ghana (Unpublished PhD thesis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from http://commons.ln.edu.hk/post_otd/.Google Scholar
Gyasi, R. M. and Phillips, D. R. (2018). Gender, self-rated health and functional decline among community-dwelling older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 77, 174–183. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2018.05.010.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gyasi, R. M., Phillips, D. R. and Buor, D. (2018). The role of a health protection scheme in health services utilisation among community-dwelling older persons in Ghana. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gby082.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hajek, A. et al. (2015). Gender differences in the effect of social support on health-related quality of life: results of a population-based prospective cohort study in old age in Germany. Quality of Life Research, 25, 1159–1168. doi: 10.1007/s11136-015-1166-5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hajek, A. et al. (2017). How does social support affect functional impairment in late life? Findings of a multicenter prospective cohort study in Germany. Age and Ageing, 46, 813–820. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afx012.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hajek, A. and König, H.-H. (2016). The effect of intra-and intergenerational caregiving on subjective well-being—evidence of a population based longitudinal study among older adults in Germany. PLoS One, 11, e0148916. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148916.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hakulinen, C. et al. (2015). Structural and functional aspects of social support as predictors of mental and physical health trajectories: Whitehall II cohort study. Journal of Epidemiol Community Health, 70, 710–715. doi: 10.1136/jech-2015-206165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E. and Vaux, A. (1993). Social support: resources and context. In: Goldberger, L. and Breznitz, S. (eds.), Handbook of Stress: Theoretical and Clinical Aspects, 2nd ed. (pp. 685–705). New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B. and Layton, J. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 7, e1000316. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kauppi, M. et al. (2017). Characteristics of social networks and mortality risk: evidence from two prospective cohort studies. American Journal of Epidemiology, 187, 746–753. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwx301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kemp, A. H., Arias, J. A. and Fisher, Z. (2017). Social ties, health and wellbeing: a literature review and model. In: Ibáñez, A. et al. (eds.), Neuroscience and Social Science. Cham: Springer.Google Scholar
Kessler, R. C. et al. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalence and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32, 959–956. doi: 10.1017}S0033291702006074.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Litwin, H. (2004). Social networks, ethnicity and public home-care utilization. Ageing and Society, 24, 921–939. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X04002491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lubben, J. et al. (2006). Performance of an abbreviated version of the Lubben social network scale among three European community-dwelling older adult populations. The Gerontologist, 46, 503–513. doi: 10.1093/geront/46.4.503.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moussavi, S. et al. (2007). Depression, chronic diseases, and decrements in health: results from the World Health Surveys. Lancet, 370, 851–858. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61415-9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ng, A. C. Y., Phillips, D. R. and Lee, W. K. M. (2002). Persistence and challenges to filial piety and informal support of older persons in a modern Chinese society: a case study in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. Journal of Aging Studies, 16, 135–153. doi: 10.1016/s0890-4065(02)00040-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oakley, A. (1985). Social support in pregnancy: the ‘soft’ way to increase birthweight? Social Science and Medicine, 21, 1259–1268. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(85)90275-8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oladeji, D. (2011). Family care, social services, and living arrangements factors influencing psychosocial wellbeing of elderly from selected households in Ibadan, Nigeria. Education Research International, 2011, 1–6. doi: 10.1155/2011/421898.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peen, J., Schoevers, R. A., Beekman, A. T. and Dekker, J. (2010). The current status of urban-rural differences in psychiatric disorders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 121, 84–93. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01438.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Phillips, D. R. and Feng, Z. (2015). Challenges for the ageing family in the People’s Republic of China. Canadian Journal on Aging, 34, 290–304. doi: 10.1017/S0714980815000203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Phillips, D. R., Siu, O. L., Yeh, A. G. O., and Cheng, H. C. K. (2005). The impacts of dwelling conditions on older persons’ psychological well-being in Hong Kong: the mediating role of residential satisfaction. Social Science and Medicine, 60, 2785–2797. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.11.027.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, D. R., Siu, O. L., Yeh, A. G. O. and Cheng, K. H. C. (2008). Informal social support and older persons’ psychological well-being in Hong Kong. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 23, 39–55. doi: 10.1007/s10823-007-9056-0.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodriguez-Artalejo, F. et al. (2006). Social network as a predictor of hospital readmission and mortality among older patients with heart failure. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 12, 621–627. doi: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2006.06.471.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siu, O. L. and Phillips, D. R. (2002). A study of family support, friendship, and psychological well-being among older women in Hong Kong. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 55, 299–319. doi: 10.2190/2k1w-hwlp-jkd5-lrp6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, K. P. and Christakis, N. A. (2008). Social networks and health. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 405–429. doi: 10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134601.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoeckel, K. J. and Litwin, H. (2016). The impact of social networks on the relationship between functional impairment and depressive symptoms in older adults. International Psychogeriatrics, 28, 39–47. doi: 10.1017/s1041610215000538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thoits, P. A. (1986). Social support as coping assistance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 416–423. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.54.4.416.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uchino, B. N. (2009). Understanding the links between social support and physical health: a life-span perspective with emphasis on the separability of perceived and received support. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 236–255. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01122.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
United Nations. (2016). Sub-Saharan Africa’s growing population of older persons. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/popfacts/PopFacts_2016-1.pdf.Google Scholar
United Nations DESA. (2017). World Population Prospects– Population Division Esa.un.org. 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2015-09-29. https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/.Google Scholar
van der Geest, S. (2016). Will families in Ghana continue to care for older people? Logic and contradiction in policy. In: Hoffman, J. and Pype, K. (eds.), Ageing in Sub-Saharan Africa: Spaces and Practices of Care (pp. 21–41) London: Policy Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vaux, A. (1988). Social Support: Theory, Research, and Intervention. New York, NY: Praeger.Google Scholar
Wenger, G. C. (1991). A network typology: from theory to practice. Journal of Aging Studies, 5, 147–162. doi: 10.1016/0890-4065(91)90003-b.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Bank. (2018). Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank Group, IBRD. IDA. https://data.worldbank.org/region/sub-saharan-africa.Google Scholar
World Health Organization. (2002). Active Ageing: A Policy Framework. Madrid: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
World Health Organization. (2014). Health Statistics and information systems. Proposed Working Definition of an Older Person in Africa for the MDS project. Available from: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/survey/ageingdefnolder/en/.Google Scholar
World Health Organization. (2015). World Report on Ageing and Health. Geneva: WHO. http://www.who.int/ageing/events/world-report-2015-launch/en/, accessed 18 October 2016.Google Scholar
Yang, Y. C. et al. (2016). Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113, 578–583. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1511085112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, Z. and Hayward, M. D. (2006). Gender, the marital life course, and cardiovascular disease in late midlife. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 639–657. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00280.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zunzunegui, M.-V., Alvarado, B. E., Del Ser, T. and Otero, A. (2003). Social networks, social integration, and social engagement determine cognitive decline in community-dwelling Spanish older adults. Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58, S93–S100. doi: 10.1093/geronb/58.2.s93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed