Coping strategies of street children in Nigeria

Joshua Aransiola, Obafemi Awolowo University

The study examined the coping strategies of street children against the background that most of the policies, measures and support networks put in place by the government and other support providers are ineffective and inadequate. It examined other sources and strategies of supports that help them to cope with street life. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed in collecting and analysing the data. Findings showed that the street children have strong network of solidarity among themselves in order to cope with street life. Most Street Children (90.4%) rely more on homeless adults to cope with street life (μ = 3.26) while the community members were seen by the children as important in helping them to cope with life on the street (μ = 3.24). The study concluded that targeting some homeless adult for rehabilitation and use as links to street children by the support providers could yield better result.