Cultural Factors Promoting Streetism among Urban Children in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria

The children working, living and surviving on the street is a global problem, affecting developed and developing countries alike. However, the magnitude of the problem varies, with less developed countries facing more acute problems. The street children are marginalised children who require enormous assistance but they are often least assisted in a society. There are many factors responsible for the increase in the rate of street children and this has necessitated this type of research. This study, therefore, investigated the cultural factors promoting streetism among urban children in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design of the ex-post facto type. Five local governments were purposively selected in urban areas in Ibadan, Nigeria. The respondents selected randomly from each local government area were made up of 50 participants from five local governments, making a total of 250 participants. Questionnaire was the major instrument that was developed and used for the study. The questionnaire was divided into sections A and B. Section A was to elicit relevant general information from the respondents. While section B consisted of Twenty-Eight structured items. These include items on Streetism (r=0.7380) and Cultural Factors (r=0.7702). Three research questions were answered. Data were analysed using Pearson Product Moment correlation and multiple regression statistics. The three variables have a joint positive multiple correlation with streetism (R=.318). The three independent variables also accounted for 9% of the variance of street children engage in streetism (Adjusted R2 =.090). Family structures made the greatest contribution to streetism among urban children (?=.248; p<.05). The second contribution is made by societal customs (?=.102; p<.05) while the lowest contribution is made by modernisation (?=.055; p<.05). Streetism among urban children was predicted by family structures (B=.611; t=3.804; p<.05) because it made a significant contribution. While societal customs (B=.126; t=1.523; p<.05) and modernisation (B=.144; t=.864; p<.05) could not predict streetism among urban children because their contributions were not significant. The combination of cultural factors variables (family structures, societal customs and modernisation) proved more effective at predicting streetism among urban children in Ibadan than when considered separately. Family structure is the most potent factor in explaining streetism among urban children. This factor should be taken into consideration in order to reduce the rate of street children in urban area in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria. Keywords: Streetism, family structures, societal customs and modernisatio