Resilience, Risk and Protective Factors among Nigerian Youth

Abstract

Poverty or low socioeconomic status has been known to negatively impact the educational achievement of children across the world. However, some children have managed to succeed despite the daily challenges they face because of poverty. These children have been described as resilient in educational circles. Examples of children succeeding amid debilitating poverty are commonplace in some third world countries, where poverty rates sometimes come very close to 100 percent. The goal of this study was to study education success among Nigerian school children of low socioeconomical status who, despite living with high levels of poverty in their society, find ways to succeed. The investigation studied resilience, self-efficacy, and factors that support or impede these qualities. A quantitative method design was used for the study, which applied ecological theory and the risk and resilience framework to obtain data relating to the impact of family, the environment, and personal factors on a child’s development that serve to enhance or inhibit educational achievement. Using bivariate and hierarchical regression analysis, the study revealed that low socioeconomic status and the attending risk factors did not have any statistically significant impact on the academic resilience and self-efficacy of Nigerian youth. The study also revealed statistically significant gender differences in five protective areas of interest; namely, spiritual beliefs, ability to solve own problems without harming others or self, support of friends, serving community, and feeling safe with family/caregivers. One limitation of the study is the use of retrospective survey requiring participants to self-report and recall information about personal and sensitive matters. Recall-bias may have impacted some of the data collected.