Perception of Psychological Sense of Community among Adolescents: A Qualitative Study of Rural and Urban Communities in Ghana.

Abstract

The construct psychological sense of community has assumed prominence in research within the field of Community Psychology. Many have studied the construct in a variety of settings with different groups of people to understand how the construct means in such settings for such people. While admitting that this has contributed to deepening understanding of the construct in the scholarly world, not much has been done regarding how the construct is perceived within non - Western contexts especially Africa. Although the construct has been found to hold the same relevance for adolescents as for adults, little has been done to replicate this finding using adolescents as referents. This study aimed at qualitatively exploring perception of psychological sense of community among adolescents in rural and urban areas of Ghana. Data was drawn from the experiences of thirty (30) adolescents in Ghana through focus group interviews and personal interviews with the aid of a semi-structured interview questionnaire. Results from the analysis using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), revealed three interrelated themes: perception of community, belongingness, and effect of community on persons, as underlying adolescents’ perception of psychological sense of community in Ghana. The findings are discussed in the light of relevant theories and concepts as well as related studies. Implications for community psychology praxis and further studies are also discussed and conclusion given.