Children and Adolescents’ Social Context in South Africa: Multiple Perspectives on Everyday Life in Khayelitsha

Much of the existing knowledge about child development is based on research conducted in high-income countries and frequently reflects adult perspectives rather than children’s lived experiences. This imbalance has contributed to simplified narratives about childhood in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in African contexts, where children’s lives are often portrayed primarily through lenses of crisis and vulnerability. There is a need to go beyond incomplete crisis narratives to explore children’s social lives from their perspectives and to develop a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of the contexts, including children’s competencies, resourcefulness and relationships. Qualitative face-to-face semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with children, adolescents, caregivers and teachers. Four main themes emerged: (1) the ubiquity of violence experienced differently across developmental stages, (2) adult support and its limitations, (3) the value of child social networks, and (4) the ways children’s social contexts shape their aspirations. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding the complexity within children’s social contexts to develop interventions that are child-centred, integrated and multi-level to improve children’s lives.