Citation

Taib NI, Ahmad A. Acta Paediatr. 2019; 108(4): 725-730.

Affiliation

Department of Neuroscience, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Uppsala University, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/apa.14530

PMID

30066963

Abstract

AIM: To elucidate the types and frequencies of traumatic events among street working children in Duhok compared to school children.

METHODS: The authors compared 100 street working boys (8-16 years old), who were attending a drop-in centre for street working children with 100 age-matched schoolboys in Duhok City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The following instruments were used: a modified family map (genogram) to identify demographic data and the Harvard-Uppsala Trauma Questionnaire for Children (HUTQ-C) to assess traumatic experiences.

RESULTS: Street working children showed a significantly higher rate of reporting traumatic events than the control group (96% vs 64%, p<0.001) and higher rates of moderate to severe trauma levels (78% vs 25%, p<0.001). A varying degree of association was found for reporting different traumatic events. The largest effect size was found for torture (OR 28. 4, 95% CI:1.7-486.4) and the smallest for maltreatment/assault (OR 2.7, 95% CI:1.2-5.6).

CONCLUSION: Street working children are at a higher risk of exposure to traumatic events than school children. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

School children; Street working children; Traumatic events