A survey of street children in northern Tanzania: how abuse or support factors may influence migration to the street.
In October 2006, a survey was undertaken of youth "on the streets" in the Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions of Tanzania (n = 1,923). The question of interest was if street children who live on streets full-time differ concerning reports of abuse and support, compared to reports of children who are only part-time on the streets, and to children who don't self-identify as "street children" at all. Results show full-time street children reporting significantly more abuse than part-time counterparts, or children who were not street children (mean difference = -1.44, P < .001). Concerning support scores, non-street children and part-time street children reported significantly more support from their family than full-time street children (mean difference = 1.70, P < .001). This information identifies possible reasons why vulnerable children migrate to live on the streets in the urban areas, and contributes to the limited literature and data on this subject.
Mkombozi, P.O. Box 9601, Kilimanjaro Road Post Office, Moshi, Tanzania, East Africa.
Kate
K
McAlpine
Robert
R
Henley
Mario
M
Mueller
Stefan
S
Vetter
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003625:Data Collection; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D018453:Homeless Youth / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012419:Runaway Behavior; D012922:Social Change; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013636:Tanzania; D014507:Urbanization; D055815:Young Adult