ERIC Number: EJ953928
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Feb
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0303-8300
EISSN: N/A
Socio-Demographic Variables, General Psychological Well-Being and the Mental Health Continuum in an African Context
Khumalo, I. P.; Temane, Q. M.; Wissing, M. P.
Social Indicators Research, v105 n3 p419-442 Feb 2012
Age, gender, marital status, education attainment, employment status, and environmental setting explain different amounts of variance in psychological well-being and mental health. Inconsistent findings are reported for the socio-demographic variables in psychological well-being depending amongst others on the definition and measurement of well-being, context and the nature of the population. The present study explored the association of socio-demographic variables in an African context using two models that conceptualise and measure well-being as a holistic integrated and complex construct, namely the General Psychological Well-being model (GPW) and the Mental Health Continuum model (MHC). The study was conducted among an African sample in the North West Province of South Africa. A sample of 459 male and female Setswana-speaking adults from rural and urban areas completed measures of general psychological well-being and the mental health continuum. Descriptive statistics, correlations, cross-tabulations and regression analyses were computed. Findings indicate that socio-demographic variables play a role in determining holistic psychological well-being in a South African Setswana-speaking community. Urban living, employment, education and being married were associated with higher psychological well-being. Rural or urban environmental setting, followed by employment status, accounted for the greatest variance in psychological well-being measures. Age and gender were not significantly associated with well-being. The findings suggest that the current state of African rural living is detrimental to well-being. Through employment being an index of socio-economic status, the unemployed experience poor well-being. Future research efforts to explore the mechanisms of these relationships, and context-relevant intervention programmes are recommended.
Descriptors: Marital Status, Employment Level, Socioeconomic Status, Mental Health, Adolescents, Urban Areas, Rural Areas, Foreign Countries, Well Being, Educational Attainment, Correlation, Models, Evaluation Methods, Social Indicators, Regression (Statistics), Role, African Languages, Native Speakers, Age Differences, Gender Differences, Intervention
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A