Socio-ecological factors associated with becoming street-connected among working and homeless children and youth in Namibia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21785705 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ndilimeke Johanna Christa Nashandi (0000-0003-2295-4262, University of Namibia, corresponding author), Dennis N Makau (0000-0002-1802-2545, University of Tennessee at Knoxville), Minhae Cho (0000-0002-7448-7785, University of Memphis), Erick O Buko (0000-0002-2555-7492, University of Minnesota), Elizabeth Lightfoot (0000-0002-0861-1047, Arizona State University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 2700820-2700820 |
| Publication date | 2026-12-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Global Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1744-1692 • E-ISSN: 1744-1706 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17441692.2026.2700820 |
| PMID | 42423336 |
| OpenAlex | W7167803560 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 43 |
Although Southern Afrikan governments implement child protection programs, children and youth who work and/or live on the streets remain a persistent challenge. Guided by Ubuntu and Adaptive Calibration frameworks, this cross-sectional survey examined socioecological factors at individual, family and street levels to inform child protection interventions that is linked to the UN sustainable development goal 1 (SDG). Bivariate analyses of 217 purposively sampled street-connected participants aged 6 to 21 in urban Namibia showed that early adolescence (mean age 13.5) remains a high-risk period for transitioning to street life. Multivariable logistic regression showed that higher odds of homelessness were associated with out-of-school, living with siblings or extended family before street involvement, leaving home due to neglect; sexual, physical, or psychological abuse; or parental alcohol abuse, earning less than N$100 and utilising shelter services. These associations reflect participants adaptive calibration of psychosocial stressors and economic realities of the urban landscape but, is in tension with the Ubuntu principle of belonging and interdependence. Findings suggest that family poverty is a key driver to enter the street economy while maltreatment and school dropout sever ties to the home, highlighting the need for longitudinal studies, strategies to prevent street-involvement and ultimately achieve SDG-1
Logistic regression · Odds · Poison control · Poverty · Psychological intervention · Psychosocial · Rural area · Stressor · Suicide prevention · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Homelessness and Social Issues · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
Developmental Adaptation to Stress
Cash or Condition? Evidence from a Cash Transfer Experiment
Purposeful Sampling for Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis in Mixed Method Implementation Research
Mice
Children of the street
Street-connectedness and education in Kenya
Migrant Windhoek
Parents and Caregivers Across Cultures
African Emerging Adult Resilience
Characterizing street-connected children and youths’ social and health inequities in Kenya
Family-level factors to reintegrate street-involved children in low- and middle-income countries
The Socio-Economic Impact of Poverty in Namibia
Inhalant abuse among street‐involved children and adolescents in India
Social and structural barriers to housing among street-involved youth who use illicit drugs
Assessing Assets Among Street-Connected Youth
Homelessness, violence exposure, and school participation among urban adolescent mothers
Pathways to young Namibian mothers’ high school engagement
Ubuntu and its potential impact on the international social work profession
The concrete particulars of the everyday realities of street children
The evolutionary basis of risky adolescent behavior
Understanding development of African American boys and young men
Street Youth in Southern Africa
Kin and Youths in the Social Networks of Youth-Headed Households in Namibia
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |