WHAT ARE THE STRESSFUL SITUATIONS THAT STREET CHILDREN IN CAMEROON HAVE TO COPE WITH?

Abstract

Background: The conditions under which street children live and the challenges they face on the streets may lead to stress and suicidal thoughts. Objective: To investigate the nature and extent of stresses experienced, and coping strategies used by street children in Cameroon. Method: A cross sectional study was carried out on a non-probability snowball sample of 399 street children aged 12 to 17 years. Data was collected by means of interpersonal administration of questionnaires, then analyzed by uni-variate and bi-variate calculation of frequencies as well as cross tables and X2test comparison per city of residence. Results: More than 90% of the respondents reported to have felt lonely and unhappy within the past one month, with a higher occurrence noted in Douala and Yaoundé. The main stressful event faced by these children was a sickness or injury (89.22%) needing health assistance, though other factors played a role like the death of a close relative (68.17%), natural disaster (20.05%) and refugee status(11.53%). A small but considerable proportion of 13.03% of the participants reported to have considered suicide as an option; this was reported more frequently in Bamenda. About 7.02% of the participants had made plans of suicide though none of them had actually put those plans into action. Conclusion: Street children are faced with very difficult and stressful situations with a small but very considerable proportion of them seriously considering suicide as a solution. If no intervention is provided, there is a probability that in the near future, increasing cases of suicide amongst these children might be noted