Life on the street and the mental health of street children: a developmental perspective

M.A.Mental health workers are becoming more and more aware of the need to address all youths at risk in South Africa. While different contexts place youths at different types of risks, of particular interest in this study, is the phenomenon of street youths – a visible manifestation of a disrupted political and socio-economic society. Over time, it has come to be recognised that it is not enough to simply place these children in institutions, but that it would be more helpful to understand who these children are as individuals. Knowing how they function on an emotional and psychological level, their culture, their values and their dreams has profound implications for interventions that aim at improving the quality of their lives. Moreover, understanding the needs of these youths in more depth provides them with the opportunity to be included in decision-making processes pertinent to their future as contributing members of society. In view of the above, this study examines the personality development of street youths with the purpose that mental health workers combine developmental principles into their interventions. Thus, it is argued that by building on the knowledge that these youths already have of themselves and their lives, and by carefully examining their developmental needs, more appropriate and responsible programs can be created. Many studies on street youths have found that there is a high incidence of pathology in street youths. Much of this has been attributed to the abusive, dysfunctional and neglected home environments that these youths come from, and is generally exacerbated by the life style they lead on the streets. Therefore, this study examines the context from which street youths have emerged with particular emphasis on family systems, social contexts, beliefs and values, and the general infrastructure of the community at a government level. It was decided to use projective testing on a sample of street youths in the hope of identifying to what extent these youths' development has been compromised. In this respect, their needs, traits, strengths, conflicts and defenses were examined. The results were then integrated with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as well as Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, and then examined against the backdrop of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory. The results of this study found that generally, healthy development in these youths has, indeed, been compromised. Any need for achievement, autonomy, dependency or security was found to be absent in these youths. It has therefore, been argued that these youths have been arrested at their first level of development, mainly because their primary focus is on fulfilling their basic physiological needs, to the extent that any higher order needs cannot be met. The results did, however, find that the majority of the youths in this sample are extroverted and flexible, and despite their living conditions, they are not negative or evasive. Whether these traits are inherent or learned is unknown, however, it is argued that these traits assist them to survive more successfully on the street. It was also found that, although these youths are not very adaptable, they are accessible, a possible survival skill making them more receptive to both welfare institutions and the public, on whom they depend on for their survival. Interestingly, it was found that a significant percentage of these youths indicate a presence of organicity. While the source of this may be due to extensive substance abuse, physical abuse or birth defects, its presence may also explain the presence (or absence) of other traits and conflicts in this sample. As such, these youths do indicate any significant pathological conflicts, except for paranoia. The presence of paranoia is to be expected in these children because, in order to survive, these youths need to be constantly alert to the dangers in their environment. This finding also lends support to the fact that these youths should not be pathologised but must rather be seen within the larger context of societal problems and issues. Finally, it was found that the youths in this sample do not indicate defenses. This is an unusual finding as by the time they reach adolescence, these youths should have developed certain defenses in order for successful negotiation of the environment to occur. Further study could shed light on why defenses were absent in these youths. In conclusion, it has also been argued that it is important to note that, because different studies indicate different results, it must be recognised that street youths experience street life differently, and that not all street youths experience negative life circumstances as equally stressful. Thus, it can be concluded that healthy personality development of street youths is not solely based on their experiences at home or on the street. It may also depend on predispositional traits, how they perceive their situations, how they construe themselves, their internal locus of control, their resilience levels and their social support systems