Assessing the Level of Social Integration among Adolescents with Special Needs in Northern Namibia

Social integration is widely recognised as a critical determinant of the psychosocial well-being of adolescents, yet empirical evidence on how adolescents with special needs experience social integration remains limited in rural and semi-urban African settings such as northern Namibia. This article is drawn from a broader mixed-methods thesis on social integration and self-concept among adolescents with special needs, and it addresses the first objective of that study, namely to assess the level of social integration among adolescents with special needs in northern Namibia. Anchored in Social Identity Theory, the study adopted a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. A census sample of 192 adolescents with special needs drawn from four government schools in the Oshana and Omusati regions completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), while six adolescents were purposively selected for semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively using SPSS Version 29, while qualitative data were analysed thematically and integrated with the quantitative results. The findings show that adolescents with special needs in northern Namibia generally experience a high level of social integration. Family support recorded the highest mean score (M = 5.17), followed by support from significant others (M = 4.92) and friends (M = 4.72), yielding an overall composite mean of approximately 4.94 on the seven-point MSPSS scale, well above the scale midpoint of 4.00. Qualitative findings corroborated the quantitative results, revealing themes of strong family support, mentorship from significant others such as teachers and hostel matrons, peer companionship, and a general sense of belonging within the school environment. However, some participants reported challenges related to trust among peers, feelings of exclusion in certain situations and limited opportunities for broader social engagement. The study concludes that adolescents with special needs in northern Namibia are, on the whole, socially well integrated, but recommends that schools, families and communities sustain and strengthen structured peer-support, mentorship and guidance programmes to address the residual pockets of exclusion identified among a minority of learners.

Counselling psychology

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