Substance abuse among street children in Mumbai

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12893336
AutoresAbhay Gaidhane (0000-0002-4814-2695, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences), Quazi Syed Zahiruddin (0000-0002-1435-899X, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, autor de correspondencia), Lalit Waghmare (0000-0002-3311-7657, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences), Sunita Shanbhag (Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College), Sanjay Zodpey (0000-0001-9797-2049, Government Medical College), S R Joharapurkar (Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences)
Año2008
Volumen3
Número1
Páginas42-51
Fecha de publicación2008-04-29
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaVulnerable Children and Youth Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1745-0136 • E-ISSN: 1745-0128
EditorialRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17450120701843166
OpenAlexW1981999919
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas12

Adolescent street boys are a highly mobile population and difficult to reach. They are recognized to be vulnerable to substance, physical and sexual abuse. Our objective was to conduct a study among adolescent street boys of Mumbai City to assess substance, physical and sexual abuse and the factors associated with them. Most of the studies on adolescent street boys were conducted either in observation homes or via surveys, but we have adopted a unique approach in which a cross-sectional study was conducted in a 3-day ‘Diwali Festival Mela’, an annual celebration when these adolescent street boys come from almost all areas of Mumbai City in large numbers. During this period they are relaxed and provide confidential information in privacy; the response rate was 83.5%. Of 163 street boys, 132 (80.98%) were substance abusers; 52 (31.9%) had been sexually abused and 87 (53.3%) had been physically abused. The most common reasons for substance abuse or the perceived functions of substance use mentioned by participants were peer pressure (62.1%), experimentation (36.3%) or to boost self-confidence (28.7%). Almost three-quarters (70 %) of all substance users wanted to quit and about 40% had tried to quit. A multiple logistic regression statistical method was used in which increasing age, family pathology, substance abuse among peers and those who were living ‘only on-street’ were at a greater risk of substance abuse (P 0.05). Those adolescent street boys with family pathology were at more risk of physical abuse, with a statistical significance of P < 0.05. This study will help in the intervention and evaluation of programmes intended for a most elusive population at extreme risk for various abuses and its adverse consequences. Keywords: Street childrensubstance abusephysical abusedrug abuse

Criminology · Environmental health · Forensic engineering · Psychiatry · Substance abuse · Engineering · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues