Social contextual factors contributing to child and adolescent labor: an ecological analysis

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To examine the relationship between social contextual factors and child and adolescent labor. METHODS:Population-based cohort study carried out with 2,512 families living in 23 subareas of a large urban city in Brazil from 2000 to 2002. A random one-stage cluster sampling was used to select families. Data were obtained through individual household interviews using questionnaires. The annual cumulative incidence of child and adolescent labor was estimated for each district. New child and adolescent labor cases were those who had their fi rst job over the two-year follow-up. The annual cumulative incidence of child and adolescent labor was the response variable and predictors were contextual factors such as lack of social support, social deprivation, unstructured family, perceived violence, poor school quality, poor environment conditions, and poor public services. Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression were used to assess the associations. RESULTS:There were selected 943 families corresponding to 1,326 nonworking children and adolescents aged 8 to 17 years. Lack of social support, social deprivation, perceived violence were all positively and individually associated with the annual cumulative incidence of child and adolescent labor. In the multiple linear regression model, however, only lack of social support and perceived violence in the neighborhood were positively associated to child and adolescent labor. No effect was found for poor school quality, poor environment conditions, poor public services or unstructured family. CONCLUSIONS:Poverty reduction programs can reduce the contextual factors associated with child and adolescent labor. Violence reduction programs and strengthening social support at the community level may contribute to reduce CAL. Child and adolescent labor (CAL) is a worldwide problem that affects most developing countries, and it is widely recognized as associated with poverty. 2 Poverty is usually defi ned as a pattern of individual and family social disadvantages and rarely analyzed within contextual dimensions. Determinants of CAL are commonly studied under the framework of economy, 2 and the social context is analyzed using family-related variables such as number of children, birth order or family composition that are also used as proxy of economic dimensions. 2,9 In developing countries, CAL prevails in the informal economy, particularly in home-based and street vending small business run by families. 2 Therefore, the household and surrounding environment may play an important role in shaping social practices regarding initiation and maintenance of CAL. City subareas are RESUMO OBJETIVO: Analisar a relação entre as variáveis sociocontextuais e o trabalho de crianças e adolescentes. MÉTODOS:Estudo de coorte com 2.512 famílias residentes em 23 áreas urbanas de Salvador, BA, entre 2000 e 2002. A seleção das áreas e a identifi cação das famílias foram realizadas por amostragem por conglomerados. Entrevistas domiciliares foram realizadas com questionários in...

Social support from the perspective of adolescent victims of domestic violence

“…In a study examining the relationship between socio-contextual variables and work of children and adolescents (16) , the results showed the association of absence of social support from the community with the presence of work in this population. The literature also indicated that evaluating a neighborhood as non-supportive or distant is a risk factor for suicidal ideation of individuals (17) .…”

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“…Crianças e adolescentes residentes em países em desenvolvimento comumente se encontram em situação econômica desfavorável e consequente vulnerabilidade social, o que acarreta maior necessidade de adentrar ao mercado de trabalho com o objetivo principal de contribuir com a renda familiar ou o orçamento doméstico 31,32 . Muitas vezes, a cobrança familiar sobre o ingresso no mercado de trabalho recai sobre os tabela 2.…”

Lifetime Paid Work and Mental Health Problems among Poor Urban 9-to-13-Year-Old Children in Brazil

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