Cultural variations in hopelessness, optimism, and suicidal ideation: A study of Ghana and US college samples

As a follow-up study on previous findings of cultural differences in respon ses to depressive mood, college students from Ghana and the United States c ompleted measures of hopelessness, optimism, and suicidal ideation. Statist ical analyses were performed to compare differences in means between the tw o countries. Compared to the U.S. sample, Ghanaian college students reporte d less feelings of hopelessness, t(179) =-3.365 p < .001, and were signific antly more optimistic, t(208) = 6.609, p < .0001. Furthermore, the U.S. sam ple endorsed significantly more items on the suicidal ideation scale, t(207 ) = 2.121, p < .035, than their Ghanaian counterparts. The role of factors such as cultural variations in an individual's sense of belonging, social s upport, and expectancies is discussed in light of the present findings. Imp lications and directions for future research are also considered.