This study addresses a theoretical gap by examining how multiple livelihood assets collectively enhance rural communities’ adaptive capacity and contribute to rural resilience theory. Using structural equation modeling, data were collected from June to August 2024 from 372 randomly selected households in Karangrejo Village, Indonesia, to test whether livelihood assets significantly influence adaptive capacity in response to diverse economic, social, and environmental shocks. The findings reveal that human, natural, physical, and social capital show a strong, positive effect on adaptive capacity, whereas financial capital alone does not significantly enhance resilience. Despite the limited geographic scope, the results underscore that comprehensive asset combinations—rather than reliance on a single form of capital—strengthen a community’s capacity to withstand shocks. This integrated perspective suggests that balanced investments across multiple forms of capital foster sustainable and flexible adaptation strategies, enabling communities to navigate uncertainty and maintain stability. The study highlights the critical importance of diversifying livelihood assets to foster long-term rural resilience and improve quality of life, offering practical insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in developing holistic interventions that support adaptive capacity.

Stunting—defined by the World Health Organization as a height-for-age z-score < −2 SD—signals chronic undernutrition that impairs both physical and cognitive development. This study investigates how the three pillars of food security (availability, access, utilization) influence stunting prevention efforts in the Bondowoso Regency, East Java, Indonesia. A cross-sectional survey of 113 mothers of stunted children (0–59 months) was analysed with Structural Equation Modelling using Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM). The model reveals significant positive paths from food security pillars to composite stunting prevention behaviours (β = 0.18–0.86, p < 0.05), with availability emerging as the strongest predictor. These findings highlight food security as a lever for reducing the local stunting prevalence (local 32% vs. national 24.4%) and provide evidence for community-based nutrition programmes in similar agrarian districts. Strengthening food security is therefore essential to safeguarding child well-being in vulnerable Indonesian communities.