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Abstract

Various pathways in early life expose individuals to a host of factors that affect later health and well-being outcomes. Using the life course development model allows researchers to develop a better understanding of human development and the promotion of resilience in the face of adverse shocks and stresses. The model builds on the life stage models, tracing the developmental processes that occur throughout the life span. We used the life course development model to assess well-being outcomes through dyad interviews between caregivers and adolescents aged 12 to 17 years living in conflict- and tsunami-affected areas in eastern Sri Lanka. The study will interview 30 to 40 adolescents along with their caregivers. Domains explored in the interviews include social supports, household exposure to shocks and stresses, coping strategies, school/work and future aspirations and expectations. Interviews will be recorded and transcribed. Data will be analyzed using Nvivo software with a set of predetermined codes. The research team will develop new thematic codes during data analysis using a grounded theory approach. We anticipate findings to illustrate the negative effects of intergenerational poverty, prolonged conflict and natural disasters on the developmental trajectories of children living. In addition, data should also elucidate the factors, processes and pathways that protected or buffered children and households in the face of poverty and associated risks.

Biography

Christine Fu, PhD, is a Senior Program Research Specialist at World Vision United States, where she designs and carries out primary and secondary research and analysis on program effectiveness. Dr. Fu is a social and behavioural scientist with seven years of experience evaluating public health and poverty reduction programs in resource-poor settings internationally and domestically. She has expertise in quantitative and qualitative methods and research and evaluation designs. Dr. Fu has experience conducting social science evaluation of child well-being programs, as demonstrated by her research on disaster mental health and psychosocial supports of children and youth in China, psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery of out-of-school youth in Liberia, adolescent sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence in Uganda, and peer networks and social capital among HIV positive youth in the Caribbean. In addition, Dr. Fu has research experience in development economics and the multi-dimensionality of poverty, as demonstrated by her work on poverty-reduction and social development initiatives for the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management team at the World Bank.