Narratives of pride and regret among older persons in Ghana
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Date
2019-12
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Publisher
Ghana Social Science Journal
Abstract
This paper contributes to scholarship on aging by exploring narratives of
pride and regret among older persons in Ghana. Although there is
emerging literature on older persons in Ghana, no recent research has
provided a forum for older persons to talk about what they are proud of
and/or regret. A narrative inquiry approach was used to explore what older
persons in Ghana are proud of and what they regret in their lives. Semistructured
interviews were conducted with 23 persons aged between 60
and 80 years and the data analyzed following narrative analysis
procedures. Two overarching themes and four subthemes were identified
in the narratives of pride and regret. ‘A sense of fulfilment’ emerged as
the overarching theme from the narratives of pride whose subthemes were
‘contribution to society’ and ‘personal accomplishment’. Again, ‘a sense
of disappointment’ emerged as the overarching theme from the narratives
of regret whose subthemes were ‘mistakes of youth’ and ‘unfortunate
experiences’. These findings and their implications are discussed
Description
Ghana Social Science Journal, 16(2), 46-83
Keywords
pride and regret, contribution to society, mistakes of youth, personal accomplishment, older persons in Ghana