Author(s)

Md. Emaj Uddin^1*, Md. Awal Kabir²

¹Department of Social Work, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh.
²Department of Social Work, Pabna University of Science and Technology, Pabna, Bangladesh.

Children’s age ascription across family life situations is culturally constructed in every society. Relevant literature suggests that children’s age ascription and its consequences across family life situation are enormous and pervasive across the cultures. Despite this, there is a paucity of systematic cross-cultural evidence on which social workers may play important roles in changing age ascription and its negative consequences. Reviewing cross-cultural literature, this study compares age ascription and its consequences in family life situations between Muslim and Santal cultures in Bangladesh. Evidence suggests that age ascription of the Santal for working/earning, marrying, mothering and family authority is earlier, but later in schooling, separation between boy and girl, separate sleeping between son and daughter and/or parent than that in the Muslim community. Santal children with early or late age assignment in those family life situations compared to Muslim ones are more likely to suffer from negative social, psychological, and health consequences. Based on the evidence, social work implications are discussed to change age status assignment and consequences in the family life situation between the two ethnic communities in Bangladesh.

Children’s Age Ascription, Family Life Situation, Consequences, Muslim, Santal, Social Work Implication, Bangladesh

Uddin, M. and Kabir, M. (2016) Children’s Age Ascription and Consequences across Family Life Cycle between Muslim and Santal in Bangladesh. Psychology, 7, 984-991. doi: 10.4236/psych.2016.77099.