Table 1 Adolescents reproductive resilience research design

1. Socio-demographic context: Age, location, level of education, religion, wealth of family, family status, relationship status

How old are you? What is your educational level? Are you in a relationship? Is your father living together with your mother? Have you ever had sex? What is your religion? Is your father having another wife beside your mother? What is your ethnicity? What is your family’s source of income? Have you ever been pregnant?

2.1 Social capital; Various kinds of valued relations with significant others

Do you have someone you can turn to in case you have questions related to avoiding/dealing with teenage pregnancy? How many people can you turn to? Whom do you turn to?

2.2. Cultural capital; Embodied (personal dispositions and habits), objectified (knowledge and tradition stored in material forms) and institutionalized (educational qualification)

Do you have access to other information sources in order to learn about how to avoid/deal with teenage pregnancy? How many different sources do you have access to? What kind of sources?

2.3. Economic capital; Command over economic resources, mainly cash and assets

Do you have someone you can turn to in case you need money to avoid/deal with teenage pregnancy? How many people can you turn to? Whom do you turn to?

2.4. Symbolic capital; Honour, recognition and prestige

Do you feel accepted within your social environment? Do you strive for a good reputation?

3.1 Psycho-social resilience; Psycho-social dispositions

Do spiritual & religious beliefs help you to abstain from sexual relationships/to deal with teenage pregnancy? Do you believe that you can successfully manage to avoid/deal with teenage pregnancy? Do you have the ability to establish and maintain relationships with people, who you can ask for advice related to avoiding/dealing with pregnancy?

3.2 Life skills; Sexual and reproductive health knowledge

Do you dare to speak out when someone approaches you in a sexual way and you do not want it? Do you know how to protect yourself from pregnancy? Do you decide freely if, when and with whom you want to have sex?

4.1 Competencies of never pregnant girls; Being able to competently mobilize resources in order to avoid teenage pregnancy.

Do you protect yourself from pregnancy by using contraceptives? Did you deliberately abstain from sex to avoid pregnancy? Have you mobilized any social support to actively avoid pregnancy? Did you manage to mobilize this support successfully? Have you actively mobilize economic resources to protect yourself from pregnancy? Did you manage to mobilize them successfully? Have you actively looked for other sources of information on how to protect yourself against pregnancy? Did you manage to get the information you were looking for? Do you dare to speak out when someone approaches you in a sexual way that you do not like? Do you decide freely when and with whom to have sex?

4.2 Competencies of pregnant girls/young mothers; Being able to competently mobilize resources in order to cope with teenage pregnancy/childbirth.

Did you try to continue schooling or learn a trade during/after pregnancy? Did you make use of health services to check your own health and/or the health of your baby? Have you actively mobilized any social support in order to cope with teenage pregnancy/childbirth? Did you manage to mobilize this support successfully? Have you mobilized any financial resources in order to cope with teenage pregnancy/childbirth? Did you manage to mobilize these resources successfully? Have you actively looked for other sources of information on how to cope with teenage pregnancy/childbirth? Did you manage to get the information you were looking for? Do you dare to speak out when someone approaches you in a sexual way that you do not like? Do you decide freely when and with whom to have sex?