Peer-reviewed article
Parental substance abuse and educational outcomes among street children in Pakistan: the mediating role of mental health
Tauqeer Abdullah ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view ·Key points
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Abstract
This study explores the impact of parental substance abuse on children’s educational outcomes, emphasizing the mediating role of child mental health. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, the research examines how familial dysfunction disrupts a child’s ability to engage academically. The study was conducted in Peshawar, Pakistan, with a sample of 713 school-aged children exposed to parental substance use. Using a quantitative design and structural equation modelling, the findings reveal that parental substance abuse has a significant negative association with children’s educational engagement, academic performance, and mental health. Child mental health emerged as a strong predictor of both educational engagement and performance, and significantly mediated the relationship between parental substance abuse and educational outcomes. These results highlight how chronic stress within the family system impairs psychological functioning in children, which in turn affects their academic trajectories. The findings underscore the importance of understanding the psychological pathways through which environmental stressors affect educational outcomes in vulnerable populations.