Psychosocial needs, stressors and survival strategies of adolescent street children in Mzuzu, Malawi: A human development approach

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: When a developing country embarks on a pathway towards modernization andurbanization, one form in which poverty expresses itself is in the outgrowth of streetchildren. In Malawi, the number of street children increases every day.The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of the needs, stressors andsurvival strategies of street children in Mzuzu, Malawi. To achieve this goal, theobjectives formulated are: to explain adolescent development within the context of ahuman development approach; discuss the phenomenon of street children, theirneeds and related stressors; describe their survival strategies; and to analyse andinterpret data on investigation of the needs, stressors and survival strategiesemployed by adolescent street children in Mzuzu, Malawi.A qualitative research approach was used together with an exploratory anddescriptive research design in order to provide a detailed description of thephenomenon being studied, namely street children. The sample for the study wasselected by means of purposive sampling. Twenty-five adolescents between the ageof thirteen and fifteen living in/and or working in the streets of Mzuzu were involvedin the study. Data was gathered by means of a semi-structured interview schedulewhich was administered during individual interviews.The main recommendations of the study are related to improvement of households'capacity to care for their children. In addition, recommendations suggest support atgrassroots level (family) as a way of mitigating the exodus of children into thestreets. It is also recommended that policy should look at the issue of street childrenas a child rights and a child protection issue.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University