title: "Making it": Understanding adolescent resilience in two informal settlements (slums) in Nairobi, Kenya.
abstract: Many adolescents living in contexts characterized by adversity achieve positive outcomes. We adopt a protection-risk conceptual framework to examine resilience (academic achievement, civic participation, and avoidance of risk behaviors) among 1,722 never-married 12-19 year olds living in two Kenyan urban slums. We find stronger associations between explanatory factors and resilience among older (15-19 years) than younger (12-14 years) adolescents. Models for pro-social behavior and models for anti-social behavior emerge as key predictors of resilience. Further accumulation of evidence on risk and protective factors is needed to inform interventions to promote positive outcomes among youth situated in an ecology of adversity.
authors.affiliation: African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Caroline W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kabiru
authors.affiliation: African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Donatien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Beguy
authors.affiliation: Strategic Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation Section, UNICEF, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Robert P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Ndugwa
authors.affiliation: African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Eliya M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Zulu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado, United States.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jessor
keywords: Adolescents; Kenya; Resilience; Risk and Protective Factors; Slums