Afrocentric and gendered constructions of psychological well-being in Nigeria: a case study

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate factors influencing psychological well-being in adults (17 men and 23 women) (mean age = 55.7; SD = 14.2) and 31 children (17 boys and 14 girls) (mean age = 12.5; SD = 3.4) drawn from five farming communities in Ogun State, Nigeria, through purposive sampling. The participants were all Yorubas, the dominant ethnic group in south-west Nigeria. Data collection methods included life histories, in-depth individual interviews, focus group interviews and observation. While there were no variations in factors influencing the psychological well-being of boy- and girl-children, the data revealed gender differences in factors influencing the psychological well-being of parents. The findings pose a challenge to African scholars andfeminists about the need to develop culture-specific and Afrocentric paradigms in their research in order to make their findings more useful and applicable.

Keywords: farm families, ifozanbale, socio-cultural constructions, Yorubas

Journal of Psychology in Africa 2005, 15(1): 31–40