Emotional Problems among Street Children: an Intervention Program

Abstract

The present study was aimed at exploring the emotional problems among street children. The term ‘street children’ is used for children for whom the street has become a permanent dwelling place (SPARC, 2019). According to the UNICEF (2005), children under the who spend the most of their life on low-paying jobs after turning 18 years old and who are without any adult’s supervision are termed as street children. It was a primary research in which mixed method design was utilized, and was based on the phenomenological approach which focused on commonality of street children’s lived experiences. Therapy sessions consisted of 7-8 sessions. The sample of the proposed study was consisted of 12 participants (N = 12), aged 7-13 which was purposively drawn from the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child’s (SPARC) center for street children in Islamabad. Based on participants’ choice, participants (n = 12) were split into the experimental (n = 6) and control group (n = 6), respectively.. Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale, and Validity of Cognition (VOC) scale were used for assessment. After initial FGDs, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy was chosen as form of psychotherapy to address participants’ emotional issues. Quantitative data obtained during pre, post, and follow-up phases was analyzed through SPSS-23 and thematic analysis was used for analyzing qualitative data of the study. Results showed significant improvement in post-test assessments revealing the effectiveness of EMDR with street children. Furthermore, significant differences were seen in assessment scores of control and experimental groups. Major themes generated were abuse, negative ix attitude of people, inappropriate home environment, awareness level beyond age, defensive behaviors, effect of adverse events, poverty, and street life. The present study is not only helpful in theory building but also spawns certain practical implications.