Violence victimisation and aspirations–expectations disjunction among adolescent girls in urban Kenya

Abstract

Violence victimization is a key threat to adolescents’ well-being in urban slums in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the association between violence victimization and aspiration–expectations disjunction using cross-sectional data from 2360 girls aged 11–15 years in a slum settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. We conducted bivariate and multivariate analyses to assess the association between violence victimization and aspirations–expectations disjunction, a measure of the difference between aspirations and expectations for achieving them. One-third (n = 798) of girls had experienced at least one form of violence. At bivariate and multivariate level, violence victimization was significantly associated with higher aspirations–expectations disjunction but not with aspirations, suggesting that girls who had experienced violence had lower expectations for achieving aspirations. Results imply that girls who experience violence may lose hope in their future. Interventions to screen girls for violence victimization and enable positive coping may be critical.