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198172 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.198172 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ All Rights Reserved 2024 2026-12-01T11:23:02 58 pages Masters Thesis Academic theses Text eng Dey, Nutifafa E. Y. Infurna, Frank J. Davis, Mary C. Sheehan, Connor M. Arizona State University Partial requirement for: M.A., Arizona State University, 2024 Field of study: Psychology Over the last 70 years, Ghana has seen many important political and socioeconomic transformations that have impacted adult life through the types of policies implemented and social programs made accessible during these transitional eras. Life span developmental psychology theories emphasize the influence of historical events and factors in shaping adult development and aging. Up to this point, studies on cohort differences, mainly from high-income nations, report trends of historical improvements in health and well-being for middle-aged and older adults in European nations, compared to middle-aged and older adults in the U.S., where historical declines are largely observed. However, a dearth of literature examines whether middle-aged and older adults in Ghana exhibit historical improvements, declines, or stability in key health and well-being outcomes and how these trends pertain to gender and education. The study fills this gap using Ghana’s WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE). Multilevel models were applied to three waves of longitudinal data collected between 2002 and 2015, and the outcomes of interest were self-rated health and depressive symptoms. Results revealed that later-born cohorts are reporting poorer self-rated health but not depressive symptoms, indicative of historical declines. No significant cohort effects or modifying effects of gender and education were found. These findings shed light on the unique historical trajectory of health outcomes in Ghana, with later-born cohorts experiencing declines, mirroring trends observed in the U.S. but differing from the historical improvements typically seen in Europe. Factors such as changing dynamics in healthcare access, financial demands, and disruptions in traditional family and social life due to modernization and urbanization may underlie these patterns. Developmental Psychology Aging Adult development Ghana Health and Well-being Historical Change Lifespan developmental psychology Middle-aged and Older adults Historical Change in the Health and Well-Being of Ghanaian Middle-Aged and Older Adults