Although much research has been conducted on the association between poverty and
happiness, little is known about its mediators and moderators. Thus, our understanding of
how – and the conditions under which -- poverty affects happiness is imprecise. This
study assessed stress as a mediator of the negative association between poverty and
happiness using a sample of 345 farmers and fish farmers living in Ghana. Further,
Psychological Capital (PsyCap, consisting of hope, optimism, resilience, and selfconfidence)
was examined as a two-stage moderator of the poverty-happiness
relationship, as mediated by stress. There was no support for the stage 1 moderation, and
while there was support for stage 2 moderation, it was in a direction opposite from what
was hypothesized (for overall PsyCap and PsyCapF2). The negative moderation at stage 2
suggests that PsyCap (overall and PsyCap2) is associated with a weakening of an
unexpected positive association between stress and happiness. PsyCapF2, appears to
reflect agency or general self-efficacy. Although the hypothesized model was not
supported this study has provided insights into how future research of Ghanaians might
be better designed. It also has shown that the positive PsyCap-happiness relationship
found in several Western samples is replicable among Ghanaian farmers, a collectivist
and highly religious community.