Abstract / Summary
Abstract Adolescent mental health problems are a major public health concern in high, medium and low-resource settings where formal mental health services experience a range of treatment and care gaps. Social capital, understood as resources embedded in social relationships and networks, may support adolescent mental wellbeing. However, limited evidence exists on how adolescents in Kenya perceive and use social capital as a mental health resource. To explore Kenyan adolescents’ perceptions of how social capital influences their mental health, this study used semi-structured interviews of 15 adolescents aged 13–19 years in a low-resource urban community in Kenya. Participants were recruited using typical case sampling and interviews conducted in English and Swahili. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis in NVivo 12. Ethical approval was obtained from the host institution and Kenya’s National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation. Three themes were identified: making social networks, social capital and mental health, and making networks work. Adolescents described social networks as actively developed through spending time with family and friends, joining social activities, and cultivating trusted relationships. Social capital supported mental health by strengthening self-esteem, identity, emotional expression, positive distraction, and access to practical, informational, and emotional support. Participants maintained different friendships for different needs. Trust, honesty, reciprocity, parental involvement, and relationship quality were viewed as essential. However, exclusion, economic inequality, negative peer influence, and burdensome obligations could harm mental health and wellbeing. Social capital is an important but conditional community resource for adolescent mental health. Public health interventions should strengthen supportive peer and family networks while addressing structural barriers to meaningful social connections.