Promoting Resilience: Measurement of Utu, Risk, Coping and Resilience Among Adolescents in Tanzania

Abstract Background: Utu is a Kiswahili term with a long history of cultural significance in Tanzania. It conveys a value system of shared, collective humanity. While variants of Utu have been studied in other contexts, its constructs have never been defined and measured in Tanzania. The primary aim of this study was to develop a measure for Utu appropriate for children and adolescents and to explore its relationships with risk, coping strategies and resilience. Methods: This study collected survey data from adolescents from three districts in peri-urban Tanzania in two samples: 189 orphan adolescents ages 10-17 in May 2020 and 333 non-orphan adolescents ages 10-14 in August 2020. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the hypothesized factor structure of the developed Utu measure. Then Utu was measured in relation to other variables including coping strategies, resilience, and adverse life experiences or risk using a structural equation. Results: The five dimensional constructs comprising the Utu measure, Resource Sharing, Group Solidarity, Respect and Dignity, Collectivity and Compassion demonstrated excellent fit and internal consistency among adolescents in this study. Positive, significant associations were found between the collective asset Utu, and internal assets (coping strategies). Coping strategies and Utu were both positively associated with intra/interpersonal and collective resilience. Utu was not significantly associated with adverse life experiences, age or gender. Conclusion: A five-dimensional measurement scale for Utu was validated in a sample of orphan and non-orphan adolescents in Tanzania. Utu is a collective asset associated with higher levels of reported resilience in both orphan and non-orphan adolescent populations in Tanzania. Promoting the collective asset of Utu may be an effective universal public health prevention approach. Implications for adolescent programming are discussed.