Who does better on life satisfaction and meaning in life? A Mixed-methods exploration of demographic characteristics and well-being in Ghana

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between the demographic characteristics of age, sex, religious practice, and standard of living with life satisfaction and meaning in life in a Ghanaian setting. Participants were 394 Ghanaian urban adults (female = 43.90; mean age = 40.84 years, SD = 11.20 years). Participants completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, life satisfaction and meaning life measures, as well as an open-ended question on well-being. Linear regression and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were employed for the quantitative data analysis and thematic analysis for the qualitative data analysis. Results revealed that living standards predicted life satisfaction and presence of meaning in life. In a post hoc analysis, presence of meaning was much greater than life satisfaction among the group with below average standard of living. From the qualitative findings, we observed that the group with below average standard of living referred extensively to hedonic conceptualisations of well-being. Our findings suggest a need for economic policies to improve population material well-being in order to enhance life satisfaction and meaning in life in a developing country setting.