Author(s)

Davou Francis John¹, Armiya’u Aishatu Yusha’u^2*, Tungchama Friday Philip³, Maigari Yusufu Taru³

¹Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria.
²Department of Psychiatry, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria.
³Department of Psychiatry, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria.

Background: Street life is a common sight among children in Africa including Nigeria. Distressed, hungry and poorly groomed children can be seen roaming the streets in search for means of survival from well-wishers and passersby. Poverty, cultural practices and religious belief have been cited as being responsible for such problems. The study aimed at determining the sociodemographic factors responsible for children being on the streets. It also seeks to establish the mental health effects of children being on the streets. Two questionnaires were designed by the researchers to collect information about respondents. One hundred and seven (107) of these children were interviewed. The study revealed the predominance of male children (91.6%), children from Islamic background (85.0%) whose parents were involved in unskilled jobs (72.0%). A statistically significant relationship was observed between street life and sociodemographic factors. Over four-fifth of the children have faced various forms of physical, sexual, emotional abuse with about three-quarter involved with alcohol and other drugs. In conclusion, the study revealed that poverty, low family income and large family sizes were responsible for children being on the streets.

Street, Children, West Africa, Mental Health, Nigeria

John, D. , Yusha’u, A. , Philip, T. and Taru, M. (2019) Street Children: Implication on Mental Health and the Future of West Africa. Psychology, 10, 667-681. doi: 10.4236/psych.2019.105042.