Resilience and Social Influences on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Adolescent pregnancy poses significant health and socio-economic challenges globally, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, early pregnancy is closely linked to school dropout, health risks, and long-term poverty. This study aimed to examine how resilience and social influences, including family, peer, school, and community support, affect the prevention of adolescent pregnancies among high school girls in Addis Ababa. A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among 790 female students aged 15-19 in government high schools in Akaki Kality sub-city using the Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire (ARQ). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression with SPSS version 25. Results showed that 49.4% of respondents had high resilience, which was positively associated with family connectedness (53.2%), family availability (53.5%), peer connectedness (52.3%), and school connectedness (58.1%). Adolescents aged 18-19 were significantly more likely to exhibit high resilience than those aged 15-17 (AOR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.01-2.01; p = 0.042), and having a father employed in the government sector also predicted higher resilience (AOR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.13-2.30; p = 0.007). These findings suggest that resilience among adolescent girls is strongly shaped by their social environments, particularly family and school connections. Strengthening these protective domains through school-based psychosocial interventions and community engagement may reduce adolescent pregnancy risk, emphasizing the need for targeted programs that build resilience and supportive networks for urban youth in Ethiopia and similar contexts.