Whilst young caregiving in Africa is not a new phenomenon, research exploring the circumstances
and well-being of young carers in Africa is recent and remains scarce. However, similar to studies
about orphaned children, the literature on young carers has a tendency to represent them as
vulnerable and passive victims at risk of poor mental health, downplaying structural problems such
as poverty and undermining the active participation of children and community members in building
resilience. This thesis contributes to an already emerging critical trend that seeks to counterbalance
this narrow focus by exploring how children, through an interaction with their social environment,
cope with difficult circumstances. In doing so, the thesis addresses conceptual gaps in the coping
literature and develops, through an iterative process, a social psychology of coping. This thesis
draws on a participatory action research project that involved 48 children and 16 adults from two
rural communities in the Bondo district of Kenya. Data were collected through multiple methods
(daily diagrams, historical profiles, community mapping, photovoice, draw-and-write exercises,
essay writing, individual interviews and group discussions) over a two-year period. The thesis
provides an example of how research can be conducted through an intervention and in partnership
with an NGO, illustrating how socio-ethical research can be conducted in a poor rural African
setting. A thematic content analysis reveals the complex nature of caregiving and brings forward
new empirical findings of young carers, including the continuity of their caregiving experiences,
socio-cultural influences on caregiving as well as the kind of care they provide. The analysis also
reveals some of the social and psychological coping strategies that the children draw upon. These
include the children誰多遜s ability to mobilise social support, engage in income-generating activities and
build positive identities based around a social recognition of their responsibilities. As a result of
these empirical accounts, the thesis concludes that the ability of a child to cope is shaped by 1) the
on-going negotiation between individual and community which shapes a person誰多遜s identity and
access to local support networks and resources to tackle adversity, 2) the quality of the community
they live in and its ability to share resources and 3) the children誰多遜s different abilities to negotiate
community support. This social psychological conceptualisation of coping opens up new levels of
analysis for research and intervention, which take account of the need to identify and bolster the
social psychological resources evident within communities that can facilitate or hinder support. To
strengthen the resilience and coping of young carers and their communities, the thesis points
towards the viability of community-based capital cash transfer programmes and gives detail to the
social psychological resources that can facilitate or hinder the building of orphan competent
communities.