Psychosocial developmental factors associated with teenage Maasai of Transmara in Kenya

Abstract

The study describes the psychosocial developmental factors associated with the teenage Maasai of Transmara in Kenya. The study was ex-post facto in approach and utilised a descriptive survey research design. This research was carried out among the three clans of the Maasai people living in Trans Mara in Narok County, namely; the Ilmoitanik, Isiria and Ilwuasinkishu. The population was 176,360. The sample was drawn from the Rrampau, Iseuri and Ilnyankusi age sets. The accessible population constituted of 919 respondents that comprised 455 males and 464 females. The sample was selected through stratified technique sampling by age sets, and by gender. The sample that was drawn from the above accessible population was 260 respondents whose distribution was 160 females and 100 males. The instrument for data collection was Focused Group Discussions that yielded valuable information from the targeted participants. The statistical analysis was done using the latest Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 for windows. The study found that there exist some distinct developmental stages that have a lot of comparisons with Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages whose combination will help in the formation of future generations and make psychological interventions more productive. The research found out that there are a lot of similarities between the two approaches in terms of structures that is, timing, qualities of the facilitators, content and evaluation procedures. The study recommends minimising the influence of the psychosocial environment that hinders proper development from ensuring the continuity of the Maasai developmental stages.