Rich people, bribes and depression – study finds link between corruption and mental health amongst Ghanaian students

Corruption is available in many forms in Ghana. Bribery, misappropriation of funds, extortion and administrative theft remain pervasive and affect key sectors of Ghana’s economy. In a 2023 Afrobarometer survey77% of Ghanaians surveyed responded that corruption was on the rise within the country.

Scholars have long studied the links between corruption and other facets of life. Political scientist Daniel Treisman tells us that each type of corruption is unwanted in democratic societies due to its far-reaching negative consequences for the economic life and well-being of the population. Through legal scholar Hard daywe all know an awesome deal concerning the relationship between corruption and gender.

However, little is thought concerning the psychological and mental health problems related to corruption.

As scholars of psychology, we got down to examine the general levels and effects of perceived corruption on mental health in Ghana.

We sought to reply the query: does the perception that wealthier people can influence state institutions or government officials for private gain affect people’s mental health?

We found that individuals’s perception of corruption in Ghana had a negative impact on their mental health. This was measured in increased suicide risk, anxiety and depression symptoms. The perception that wealthy people in society could bribe and influence any state institution or government official was strongly related to depression and anxiety symptoms amongst our participants.

Study method

We used a survey to gather data from 730 university students in Ghana. The participants’ average age was 22 years and so they were studying for various degrees.

We measured their perception of corruption by asking them to reply to 4 statements. The responses ranged from “by no means” to “extremely likely”:

1. State institutions are corrupt (for instance public universities, hospitals).

2. Politicians and other government officials are corrupt (for instance, parliamentarians and ministers).

3. In this country, individuals who have money/resources can influence any state institution(s) or government official(s) for private gain.

4. In the last 12 months, I actually have seen an individual influence/induce state institution(s) or government official(s) with money or other thing for private gain.

The mental health burden of witnessing corruption

We also investigated the query of what aspect of corruption had the best impact, and on what aspect of mental health. What we found was that witnessing corruption amongst state institutions and government officials, and the perception that the wealthy could influence these officials for private gain, was strongly related to depression and anxiety symptoms amongst our participants.

The explanation could also be that when people grow to be aware that corruption is a lifestyle, and that only just a few have what it takes to live this fashion of life, they grow to be helpless and hopeless and feel a loss of private agency. These feelings are related to depression and anxiety symptoms. It should nevertheless be noted that we didn’t control for participants’ prior experiences and symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Why does corruption affect mental health in Ghana?

We offered two explanations. Firstly, witnessing corruption may reinforce the negative beliefs about harassment, uncertainty and arbitrariness which are related to corrupt practices. It might also heighten people’s expectations that they or their family members could possibly be unfairly involved or targeted for corruption. This may explain the relation with symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The work of students like sociology researcher Iona van Deurzen shows that harassment and arbitrariness by someone who represents the state or public authority can grow to be a stressor that will elevate an individual’s levels of depression.

We discovered that the links between witnessing corruption and mental health problems may be traced to certain tendencies for people to:

• remain silent to guard or save others from being caught with a view to maintain relationships

• report back to get the corrupt person sacked and wreck relationships

• conform to a culture of corruption either in solidarity or for fear of being victimised.

These tendencies can potentially create psychological discomfort that will result in mental health outcomes reminiscent of anxiety and depression.

Corruption implies that rules regulating access and distribution of social and material resources are dysfunctional.

There is a have to rethink the consequences of corruption perceptions and to redefine it as a social determinant of public mental health.

We advise that individuals who experience corruption-induced anxiety or depression should talk over with a mental health expert and counsellors for skilled assistance.