Although much research has been conducted on the association between poverty and happiness, little is known about its mediators and moderators. Thus, our understanding of how – and the conditions under which -- poverty affects happiness is imprecise. This study assessed stress as a mediator of the negative association between poverty and happiness using a sample of 345 farmers and fish farmers living in Ghana. Further, Psychological Capital (PsyCap, consisting of hope, optimism, resilience, and self-confidence) was examined as a two-stage moderator of the poverty-happiness relationship, as mediated by stress. There was no support for the stage 1 moderation, and while there was support for stage 2 moderation, it was in a direction opposite from what was hypothesized (for overall PsyCap and PsyCapF2). The negative moderation at stage 2 suggests that PsyCap (overall and PsyCap2) is associated with a weakening of an unexpected positive association between stress and happiness. PsyCapF2, appears to reflect agency or general self-efficacy. Although the hypothesized model was not supported this study has provided insights into how future research of Ghanaians might be better designed. It also has shown that the positive PsyCap-happiness relationship found in several Western samples is replicable among Ghanaian farmers, a collectivist and highly religious community. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/20022 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | TabatabaeiLotfi, MirHossein |
| Contributors | Hackett, Rick D., Business Administration |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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