The aim of the present study was to test a hypothesised model comprising positive psychological variables (hope, perceived social support, life satisfaction) and mental health that according to the literature are related. The literature reviewed has established the direct
63
associations and relationships between the variables under study. In Figure 2.3 (page 67 of this dissertation), the author hypothesises some direct and partially mediated relationships among the variables, and between each of the variables and mental health. The hypothesised partially mediated relationships include hope predicting mental health via life satisfaction, and perceived social support predicting mental health with either life satisfaction or hope having mediating effects. Perceived social support was also hypothesised to be related to life satisfaction with hope mediating this relationship.
The model in Figure 2.3 has not been tested in previous studies, but various aspects of the hypothesised direct relationships have been confirmed. For example, the relationship between hope and life satisfaction has been demonstrated (Gilman & Huebner, 2006; Valle et al., 2006). Research has also determined the relationship between perceived social support and mental health (Proctor et al., 2009). Apart from the direct relationships between hope, perceived social support, life satisfaction, psychological well-being and psychological distress, there are other factors that could influence these constructs. For example, a multiplicity of factors, such as self-worth, locus of control, self-esteem and mastery have been identified as influential in the relationship between hope and perceived social support (Bovier, Chamot, & Perneger, 2004). The presence of multiple factors renders efforts at developing a model challenging. The author does not suggest that the hypothesised model is the only plausible explanation for the relationship among the variables, however, it is one of the parsimonious ways by which these variables might be related.
Some authors argue for the role of spirituality in the relationship between hope and psychological well-being, and between hope and psychological distress (Marques, Lopez, & Mitchell, 2013). However, the hypothesised relationship between hope, life satisfaction and mental health, with life satisfaction having mediating effects, could be explained by the coping and appraisal hypothesis. The coping and appraisal hypothesis espouses that when
64
adolescents develop appropriate pathway and agency thought and are able to evaluate stressors as obstacles they can overcome, life satisfaction is likely to ensue (Chang & DeSimone, 2001; Lazarus, 1991; Snyder et al., 2002). The positive appraisal style that characterises life satisfaction could, in turn, predict psychological well-being and
psychological distress, since life satisfaction has been identified as a key indicator of mental health.
Perceived social support was also hypothesised to predict psychological well-being and psychological distress through the mediation of life satisfaction. This relationship is possible since the evaluation of adequate social support has been identified as a buffer for stress that tends to foster life satisfaction and eventually mental health (Dalgard et al., 1995; Park et al., 2013). Given that the author was unable to find studies testing this mediated relationship, the rationale behind the hypothesised mediated relationship among the variables was that there were studies showing strong direct relationships between these variables. It is therefore possible that adolescents’ perceptions of the adequacy of support influenced their evaluation of life, which might have consequently influenced their overall well-being.
Furthermore, the hypothesised pathway connecting the perceptions of social support, hope and mental health might be based on the buffer functions of perceived social support. It is possible that adolescents find pathways through the social support provided by significant others in life (Hagen, Myers, & Mackintosh, 2005), which in turn fosters success in the goal- pursuit process and an eventual experience of psychological well-being. Additionally, the mediating impact of hope on the relationship between perceptions of support and
psychological distress could also result in lower levels of distress. Moreover, Snyder (2002) argued that an environment without support could be detrimental for the development of hope.
65
Previous research on the link between hope and life satisfaction (Gilman et al., 2006), as well as the mediated relationship between parental attachment and life satisfaction through hope (Jiang, Huebner, & Hills, 2013), suggest a plausible path showing a relationship
between perceived social support and life satisfaction mediated by hope. This path is
explained by the evidence illustrating that received support is important for attachment (Jiang et al., 2013) and also the perception of the availability of support. Therefore, if parental attachment predicts life satisfaction because of the presence hope, then a similar relationship could be hypothesised as existing between perceived social support and life satisfaction (mediated by hope). Additional partial support for this mediated relationship comes with Hagen et al. (2005) who noted that there was a strong correlation between hope levels and perceived social support among their sample of children with incarcerated mothers.
According to these authors, perceived social support can contribute to hope especially hope- pathway, which could then have positive effects on life satisfaction. It would seem that similar inferences from the hypothesised mediated relationship between perceived social support hope and mental health could be drawn for the hypothesised relationship between perceived social support, hope and life satisfaction. The author tests these four hypothesised mediated relationship, using the method of SEM, in order to determine if these associations were true for the sample selected for the study.
In summary, compared to the literature reviewed in the West, the relationships between hope, life satisfaction and perceived social support might differ somewhat in sub- Saharan Africa. The possible existence of contextual differences necessitated that data be collected in the current context, in order to determine the extent to which they reflect international trends. One of the noteworthy contributions of the current study is testing a structural model in a context where there is paucity of information. This would provide additional information on the antecedents of mental health, and how these antecedent
66
constructs (hope, perceived social support and life satisfaction) are related in enhancing psychological well-being and reducing psychological distress in the Ghanaian context. The qualitative data would also provide in-depth information on aspects of the relationship between these variables that might emerge from the quantitative data. An example of what the qualitative findings could elucidate is the possible role of spirituality in developing the adolescents’ external loci of hope as argued by Marques et al. (2013) and Bernado (2010).