Aderinto A A
Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Child Abuse Negl. 2000 Sep;24(9):1199-213. doi: 10.1016/s0145-2134(00)00172-1.
This paper sought to achieve two objectives: First, to identify the social correlates attributable to street-children in south-western Nigeria as well as predisposing factors to this behavior; second, it also tried to uncover the survival mechanisms of street children.
The study was carried out in Ibadan and Lagos metropoles in south-western Nigeria. A pilot study was first conducted to clarify issues like location of the children on the streets, time of the day suitable for interview, and adequacy of the instruments. The main study involving a comparative 202 and 201 street-children and non-street children, respectively, was carried out using the questionnaire and case study approach in the two cities. Data analytical procedures involved both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Street-children are mostly males, have low-levels of education, are predominantly Yoruba, and come from families with five or more siblings. Parents of street-children commonly had low education and were mainly found in unskilled occupations: were in contract polygynous marriages which are also often characterized by marital disruption. Street children also left home because of parental/familial reasons, chiefly among which was the inability of their parents to meet with their expectations. They survive on the streets engaging in some income-yielding activities, and are also faced with many hazards.
The findings revealed that polygyny, large family, family disruption, and child labor were all central issues and predisposing factors to living on the streets by children. The poverty factor clearly came out as a very important factor.
本文旨在实现两个目标：第一，确定尼日利亚西南部街头儿童的社会关联因素以及导致这种行为的诱发因素；第二，试图揭示街头儿童的生存机制。
该研究在尼日利亚西南部的伊巴丹和拉各斯两个大都市进行。首先进行了一项试点研究，以澄清诸如儿童在街头的位置、适合访谈的时间以及工具的充分性等问题。主要研究分别对202名街头儿童和201名非街头儿童进行了比较，在这两个城市采用问卷调查和案例研究方法。数据分析程序涉及定量和定性方法。
街头儿童大多为男性，教育程度低，主要是约鲁巴族，来自有五个或更多兄弟姐妹的家庭。街头儿童的父母通常教育程度低，主要从事非技术职业，处于一夫多妻制婚姻关系中，这种婚姻关系也常常以婚姻破裂为特征。街头儿童离家也是出于父母/家庭原因，主要原因是父母无法满足他们的期望。他们靠在街头从事一些创收活动为生，并且还面临许多危险。
研究结果表明，一夫多妻制、大家庭、家庭破裂和童工都是导致儿童流落街头的核心问题和诱发因素。贫困因素显然是一个非常重要的因素。
