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Why do some boys run away from home?
Poomima Agnihotri Tiwari1, Neena Gulati, G R Sethi
1Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India. sheeloopoonam@yahoo.com
Insights
Physical abuse and desire for economic independence are key factors driving children to become runaways. Understanding these reasons helps identify at-risk families for prevention and rehabilitation efforts.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Sociology
- Criminology
Background:
- Limited research exists on factors compelling children to live on the streets.
- Street children are a significant social issue requiring targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the factors influencing children to leave their homes and live on the streets.
- To compare characteristics of runaway versus non-runaway children.
Main Methods:
- Interviews conducted with 400 boys admitted to a Child Observation Home over 6 months.
- Statistical analysis using Chi-squared and Fisher's tests to compare groups.
- Identification of factors associated with the 'Runaway' group.
Main Results:
- Majority of runaways (55%) were aged 10-12 years, often from joint families.
- Factors associated with running away include parental abuse, step-parent presence, and lack of parental earning.
- Desire for economic independence was a significant motivator for some children.
Conclusions:
- Physical abuse and desire for economic independence are primary reasons for children running away.
- Findings can aid in identifying high-risk families for preventative measures.
- Interventions should address family dynamics, abuse, and economic factors for rehabilitation.
Objective:
Insufficient research has been done to look for the factors compelling children to make street, their home. The study was conducted at a Child Observation Home to which street children from all over Delhi, are brought.
Methods:
Each boy admitted during the specified 6 months period was interviewed. Chi2 and Fisher's test were applied. A total of 400 boys were studied, 9.8% of these had not run away from their homes and 89.2% were "Runaways". These two groups were compared and following factors were found associated with the "Runaway" group.
Result:
Majority (55%) had left home between 10-12 year of age. They were more from "Joint" families. A higher percentage had literate fathers. A higher percentage had no parent earning and a higher proportion of "Not Runaways" had only the mother earning. Presence of a step parent, guardian other than the parents and intra-familial physical abuse were found associated with "Runaway" group.
Conclusion:
The most common reason for running away was; beating by parents/relatives, followed by a desire for economic independence (28.5%). Other reasons were maltreatment by step parent/s, being both parents dead argument with parent etc. The factors emerging can be useful for identifying high-risk families with children in pre adolescent age and hence for prevention and rehabilitation.