Socio-ecological factors associated with becoming street-connected among working and homeless children and youth in Namibia

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.