Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Towards Understanding the Relationship Between Psychosocial Factors and Ego Resilience Among Primary School Children in a Kenyan Setting: A Pilot Feasibility Study

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Community Mental Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ego resilience in childhood is linked to positive mental health outcomes but varies across cultures. Kenya presents a unique context in which children are vulnerable to adversity. We therefore hypothesized that Ego resilience traits are found in Kenya. We aimed to: (i) demonstrate Ego resilience in Kenya, (ii) determine associated social-demographic and psychological factors in a non-clinical population of primary school going children, (iii) contribute to the global data base with Kenyan data and (iv) lay the grounds for informed future and more focused studies in Kenya. We used a socio-demographic questionnaire, Ego Resilience scale (ER-89) and the Youth Self Report (YSR). Multivariate analyses showed the only independent predictors of Ego resilience were female gender (p < 0.001) and peri-urban region (p < 0.001). We did not find any association between Ego resilience and YSR syndrome scores in this non-clinical population study. We achieved our aims.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abad, J., Forns, M., & Gómez, J. (2002). Emotional and behavioral problems as measured by the YSR: Gender and age differences in Spanish adolescents. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 18(2), 149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Achenbach, T., & Rescorla, L. (2013). Achenbach system of empirically based assessment. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (pp. 31–39). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Alcorta, C. S. (2006). Youth, religion, and resilience. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 67(6-A), 2006–2209.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alessandri, G., Vecchio, G. M., Steca, P., Caprara, M. G., & Caprara, G. V. (2007). A revised version of kremen and block’s ego resiliency scale in an italian sample. TPM—Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 14(3–4), 165–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Avdeyeva, T. V., & Church, A. T. (2005). The cross-cultural generalizability of personality types: a Philippine study. European Journal of Personality, 19(6), 475–499. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block, J. H., & Block, J. (1980). The role of ego-control and ego-resiliency in the organization of behavior. In W. A. Collins (Ed.), Development of cognition, affect, and social relations: The Minnesota symposia on child psychology (Vol. 13, pp. 39–101). Abingdon: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Block, J., & Kremen, A. M. (1996). IQ and ego-resiliency: Conceptual and empirical connections and separateness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), 349–361. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.2.349.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, G. A., Galea, S., Bucciarelli, A., & Vlahov, D. (2007). What predicts psychological resilience after disaster? The role of demographics, resources, and life stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(5), 671–682.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buikstra, E., Ross, H., King, C. A., Baker, P. G., Hegney, D., McLachlan, K., et al. (2010). The components of resilience—Perceptions of an Australian rural community. Journal of Community Psychology, 38(8), 975–991. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, H. M., Ndetei, D., Harder, V., Mutiso, V., & Khasakhala, L. (2012). Multiple traumas, postelection violence and posttraumatic stress among impoverished kenyan youth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25, 64–70.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S., Lamb, M. E., & Hwang, C. P. (2006). Personality development from childhood to adolescence: A longitudinal study of ego-control and ego-resiliency in Sweden. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30(4), 338–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Communities, C. for R. (2010). State of the countryside 2010. Retrieved from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110303145243/http://ruralcommunities.gov.uk/sotc2010

  • Davidson, R. J. (2001). Toward a biology of personality and emotion. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 935(1), 191–207. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb03481.x.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ebesutani, C., Bernstein, A., Martinez, J. I., Chorpita, B. F., & Weisz, J. R. (2011). The youth self report: applicability and validity across younger and older youths. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology : The Official Journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53, 40(2), 338–346. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2011.546041.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fonseca-Pedrero, E., Sierra-Baigrie, S., Lemos-Giráldez, S., Paino, M., & Muñiz, J. (2012). Dimensional structure and measurement invariance of the Youth Self-Report across gender and age. Journal of Adolescent Health, 50(2), 148–153.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L., Tugade, M. M., Waugh, C. E., & Larkin, G. R. (2003). What good are positive emotions in crises? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 365–376.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Harder, V. S., Mutiso, V. N., Khasakhala, L. I., Burke, H. M., & Ndetei, D. M. (2012). Multiple traumas, postelection violence, and posttraumatic stress among impoverished Kenyan youth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25(1), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21660.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Harder, V. S., Mutiso, V. N., Khasakhala, L. I., Burke, H. M., Rettew, D. C., Ivanova, M. Y., et al. (2014). Emotional and behavioral problems among impoverished kenyan youth: Factor structure and sex-differences. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 36(4), 580–590.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Harder, V., Mutiso, V., Khasakhala, L., Ivanova, M., Burke, H., & Ndetei, D. (2010). Prevalence of behavioral and emotional problems among Kenyan youth from an urban slum. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 51(6), e5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huey, S. J., Jr., & Weisz, J. R. (1997). Ego control, ego resiliency, and the five-factor model as predictors of behavioral and emotional problems in clinic-referred children and adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106(3), 404.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ivanova, M. Y., Achenbach, T. M., Rescorla, L. A., Dumenci, L., Almqvist, F., Bilenberg, N., … Döpfner, M. (2007). The generalizability of the Youth Self-Report syndrome structure in 23 societies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(5), 729.

  • Martel, M. M., Nigg, J. T., Wong, M. M., Fitzgerald, H. E., Jester, J. M., Puttler, L. I., et al. (2007). Childhood and adolescent resiliency, regulation, and executive functioning in relation to adolescent problems and competence in a high-risk sample. Development and Psychopathology, 19(2), 541–563.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Min, Z., & Jiamei, L. (2011). A research on influencing factors of adolescent emotional resilience. Psychological Science (China), 34(3), 593–597.

    Google Scholar 

  • Missouri Department of Mental Health. (2002). The Missouri Student Survey Questionnaire. Retrieved June 6, 2019, from http://dmh.mo.gov/.

  • Mutiso, V., Tele, A., Musyimi, C., Gitonga, I., Musau, A., & Ndetei, D. (2017). Effectiveness of life skills education and psychoeducation on emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents in institutional care in Kenya: a longitudinal study. Child and Adolescent Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ndetei, D. M., Khasakhala, L. I., Kuria, M. W., Mutiso, V. N., Ongecha-Owuor, F. A., & Kokonya, D. A. (2009a). The prevalence of mental disorders in adults in different level general medical facilities in Kenya: a cross-sectional study. Annals of General Psychiatry, 8, 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-859X-8-1.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ndetei, D., Khasakhala, L., Mutiso, V., Ongecha-Owuor, F., & Kokonya, D. (2009b). Patterns of drug abuse in public secondary Schools in Kenya. Substance Abuse, 30(1), 69–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ndetei, D. M., Khasakhala, L. I., Mutiso, V., Ongecha-Owuor, F. A., & Kokonya, D. A. (2009c). Psychosocial and health aspects of drug use by students in public secondary schools in Nairobi. Kenya. Substance Abuse, 30(1), 61–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/08897070802606410.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ndetei, D. M., Khasakhala, L., Nyabola, L., Ongecha-Owuor, F., Seedat, S., Mutiso, V., … Odhiambo, G. (2008b). The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms and syndromes in Kenyan children and adolescents. Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 20(1), 33–51. https://doi.org/10.2989/JCAMH.2008.20.1.6.491

  • Ndetei, D. M., Khasakhala, L., Ong’echa, F. A., Kokonya, D., Mutiso, V., Kuria, M., … Akanga, S. (2008c). A study of drug use in five urban centres in Kenya. African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies, 7(1), 53–58.

  • Ndetei, D. M., Khasakhala, L. I., Seedat, S., Syanda, J., Ongecha-Owuor, F. A., Kokonya, D. A., et al. (2008a). Psychometric properties of the multidimensional anxiety scale for children (MASC) amongst Nairobi public secondary school children, Kenya. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 20(2), 101–109.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ndetei, D. M., Mutiso, V., Gitonga, I., Agudile, E., Tele, A., Birech, L., … McKenzie, K. (2018). World Health Organization life-skills training is efficacious in reducing youth self-report scores in primary school going children in Kenya. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12745

  • Ndetei, D. M., Ongecha, F. A, Khasakhala, L., Syanda, J., Mutiso, V., Othieno, C. J., … Kokonya, D. A. (2007). Bullying in public secondary schools in Nairobi, Kenya. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 19(1), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.2989/17280580709486634

  • Nintachan, P. (2007). Resilience and risk-taking behavior among Thai adolescents living in Bangkok, Thailand, Ph.D., 329 p-329 p. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cin20&AN=2009982019&lang=es&site=ehost-live

  • Philippe, F. L., Laventure, S., Beaulieu-Pelletier, G., Lecours, S., & Lekes, N. (2011). Ego-resiliency as a mediator between childhood trauma and psychological symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30(6), 583–598. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2011.30.6.583.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Philippe, F. L., Lecours, S., & Beaulieu-Pelletier, G. (2009). Resilience and positive emotions: Examining the role of emotional memories. Journal of Personality, 77(1), 139–176. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00541.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Puskar, K. R., Marie Bernardo, L., Ren, D., Haley, T. M., Hetager Tark, K., Switala, J., et al. (2010). Self-esteem and optimism in rural youth: Gender differences. Contemporary Nurse, 34(2), 190–198. https://doi.org/10.5172/conu.2010.34.2.190.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spear, L. P. (2000). The adolescent brain and age-related behavioral manifestations. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 24(4), 417–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-7634(00)00014-2.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, J., & Stewart, D. (2007). Age and gender effects on resilience in children and adolescents. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 9(4), 16–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623730.2007.9721845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, Z. E., Eisenberg, N., VanSchyndel, S. K., EggumWilkens, N. D., & Spinrad, T. L. (2014). Children’s negative emotions and ego-resiliency: Longitudinal relations with social competence. Emotion, 14(2), 397–406.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tugade, M. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(2), 320–333. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.320.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ungar, M., Theron, L., & Didkowsky, N. (2011). Adolescents’ precocious and developmentally appropriate contributions to their families’ well-being and resilience in five countries. Family Relations, 60(2), 231–246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2010.00645.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNICEF. (2008). Kenya poverty and inequality assessment, (44190), 1–25.

  • Van Schaick, L. A. (2011). Predicting resilience and psychological well-being in early adulthood: The role of religion in childhood and adolescence. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 71(7–B), 4525.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagnild, G. M., & Young, H. M. (1993). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Resilience Scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 1(2), 165–178.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waugh, C. E., Fredrickson, B. L., & Taylor, S. F. (2008). Adapting to life’s slings and arrows: Individual differences in resilience when recovering from an anticipated threat. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(4), 1031–1046. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.02.005.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Weich, S., Twigg, L. I. Z., & Lewis, G. (2005). Rural/non-rural differences in rates of common mental disorders in Britain. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 188(1), 51–57. Retrieved from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/188/1/51.abstract

  • Windle, G., Bennett, K. M., & Noyes, J. (2011). A methodological review of resilience measurement scales. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 9(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-9-8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by a Grant from Grand Challenges Canada (#0083-04) and was supported by the Africa Mental Health Foundation (AMHF). Kelly Anderson was supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship Award from CIHR (#274885). We acknowledge Professor Jenelle R. Shanley from The Pennsylvania State University for critiquing the manuscript. Our appreciation to Ruth Ruhara, Darius Nyamai and Grace Mutevu of AMHF for their editorial inputs and the parents, teachers and children for their unreserved cooperation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Africa Mental Health Foundation, P.O. Box 48423 – 00100, Nairobi, Kenya

    David Ndetei, Victoria Mutiso, Christine Musyimi, Abednego Musau, Albert Tele & Isaiah Gitonga

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

    David Ndetei

  3. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada

    Anika Maraj, Kelly Anderson & Kwame McKenzie

  4. Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Christine Musyimi

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Kwame McKenzie

Authors
  1. David Ndetei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Victoria Mutiso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anika Maraj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kelly Anderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Christine Musyimi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Abednego Musau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Albert Tele
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Isaiah Gitonga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Kwame McKenzie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

DN, KM, VM and KA conceptualized the idea for the study and developed the study design. AM1, AM2 and AT conducted the analyses. CM wrote the first draft while IG reviewed it and contributed to the final draft. All authors finally read, reviewed and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Ndetei.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of Interest

Authors declare that they have no financial or non-financial competing interests.

Research Involving Human Participants

Ethics approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Boards at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

Informed Consent

The school head teachers’ gave permission for school participation, parents provided written informed consent for their child to participate and the children signed a written assent form that contained information on procedures, risks versus benefits of the study, confidentiality measures, and the right to withdraw or participate in the study at their own volition.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ndetei, D., Mutiso, V., Maraj, A. et al. Towards Understanding the Relationship Between Psychosocial Factors and Ego Resilience Among Primary School Children in a Kenyan Setting: A Pilot Feasibility Study. Community Ment Health J 55, 1038–1046 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-019-00425-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-019-00425-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation