Moderated moderation modelling of subjective social status, pocket money and depressive symptoms of university students in Ghana

Frank Quansah; Medina Srem-Sai; Edmond Kwesi Agormedah; Francis Ankomah; John Elvis Hagan Jr; Thomas Schack

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1325441

Moderated moderation modelling of subjective social status, pocket money and depressive symptoms of university students in Ghana

Front Public Health. 2024 Apr 4:12:1325441. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1325441. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Frank Quansah¹, Medina Srem-Sai², Edmond Kwesi Agormedah³, Francis Ankomah⁴, John Elvis Hagan Jr^{5

6}, Thomas Schack⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Educational Foundations, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.
² Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sports, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.
³ Department of Business and Social Sciences Education, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
⁴ Department of Educational Studies, Patton College of Education, Ohio University, Athens, OH, United States.
⁵ Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
⁶ Neurocognition and Action-Biomechanics-Research Group, Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.

Abstract

Introduction: Although the relationship between subjective social status and depression in university students has been well-established, this association could be seen as a spurious one. Previous studies have shown that key variables like financial resources and age could play key roles in explaining the variances in social status and mental health outcomes. In this research, we assessed the complex interrelationships between subjective social status, financial resources at their disposal and depressive symptoms among university students within their young and middle adulthood stages.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a university in Ghana to sample 1134 university students through accidental sampling. The McArthur Scale and WHO-5 Well-being measure were used for the data collection.

Results: The results revealed that higher levels of subjective social status were associated with lower levels of depression. It was further found that the interaction between students' pocket money and age played unique roles in the relationship between subjective social status and depression.

Conclusion: The study findings call on stakeholders in education to explore funding opportunities and to examine ways of empowering parents (financially) to adequately support the students. Health educationists and promoters, including psychologists, school counsellors and parents could compliment these efforts by helping to train and empower students through self-regulation or management skills to help improve their well-being. Continuous efforts are required to improve the financial status and mental health of students.

Keywords: adulthood; mental health; pocket money; social status; university students.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression*
Ghana
Humans
Social Status*
Students / psychology
Universities

Grants and funding

The study received no external funding. However, the authors sincerely thank Bielefeld University, Germany, for providing financial support through the “Special Funding Line, Corona 2021–2022” for the data collection and the Institutional Open Access Publication Fund for the article processing charge (APC).