Life on the street : a study into the self-esteem and the quality of interpersonal relationships of the street children in the Mmabatho/Mafikeng area of Bophuthatswana

Abstract

Using a quasi-experimental design a group of 20 street children were compared with another group of 20 non-street children on their level of self-esteem and the quality of interpersonal relationships. Both variables were measured using relevant sub-scales of the Personal, Home, Social and Formal relations (PHSF) test. The main findings of the present study were that street children's level of self esteem was very low as compared to that of the comparison group. The study also revealed that the quality of their interpersonal relationships was poor. The implications of these findings for counselling of street children are discussed.