Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article

"Celebration of Life": Youth and Middle-Aged Perceptions of Older Adults and Ageist Attitudes Towards Mortality in Ghana

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Submitted   Jan 21, 2026
Published   Apr 23, 2026
Issue    Vol 7 No 1 (2026)
DOI   10.25082/IJAH.2026.01.007

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Ishmael D. Norman corresponding author
Department of Criminology, Institute for Security, Disaster and Emergency Studies, Langma, Ghana

Abstract

Background: Aging is both a social construct and a biological reality, operating within the objective and subjective parameters of normative social values. Ghana and Africa maintain an ambivalent love-hate relationship toward aging. The prevailing attitude across workplaces throughout the continent is that any individual aged 60 years and above ought to retire and return home to rest. Nevertheless, the vast majority of African populations hold elderly people in deep reverence and affection.
Objective: This paper aims to explore the underlying foundations of the objective and subjective love-hate dichotomy surrounding aging across Africa.
Methodology: This study adopts a case-study approach examining Ghana’s policies and practices relating to ageism. The research employs qualitative analysis of literature, policy documents, and legal texts. Data was drawn exclusively from secondary sources, including official policy documents, legislation, audit reports, parliamentary records, and publicly documented cases of corruption. Furthermore, the analytical framework integrates established theories including relative deprivation, social constructivism, and age-crime propensity, alongside micro-, meso-, and macro-level analytical concepts. An original theoretical construct, Africa-Specific Age-Crime Propensity, is proposed to account for institutional corruption and financial irregularities prevalent within public-sector workforces among adult populations.
Results: The literature review demonstrates that implicit self-directed ageism remains largely unrecognised, yet produces debilitating health consequences alongside stereotypical devaluation of older workers’ capabilities and expertise. Age falsification, institutional corruption among professional officials, and related misconduct are strongly associated with limited social capital, scarce post-retirement employment prospects, and inadequate social support systems across Africa. In monetary terms, the total economic harm caused by adult offenders exceeds that perpetrated by young people. Despite this, individuals aged 60 and above continue to be widely revered, cherished, and respected. Abuse against older adults remains a widespread issue across many nations.
Discussion: The boomerang consequences of ageism, stereotypical marginalisation of older adults, and their minoritisation within society are inevitable life-course phenomena that nearly all individuals will experience. Strengthened social support networks and improved governance of retirement associations may foster harmonious intergenerational relations between older adults, young people, and middle-aged members of society.
Conclusion: Enhanced social support provisions for adult populations are highly likely to reduce instances of institutional corruption, official misconduct, and abuse of authority, while improving intersectional social relationships.

Keywords
ageism, discrimination, social network, social support, employment opportunities

Article Details

How to Cite
Norman, I. D. (2026). "Celebration of Life": Youth and Middle-Aged Perceptions of Older Adults and Ageist Attitudes Towards Mortality in Ghana. International Journal of Arts and Humanities, 7(1), 460-477. https://doi.org/10.25082/IJAH.2026.01.007
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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