Emotional Behaviour of the Child Labour

This study compared emotional and behavioural difficulties between child labourers and school-going children aged 7-14 years in Delhi slums. A total of 1,000 children (500 from each group) matched by socio-economic background were assessed using a standardized behaviour questionnaire. Child labourers showed significantly higher rates of emotional difficulties and behavioural problems than their school-going peers from the same communities.

Key points

• 500 child labourers and 500 school-going children were compared from the same slum communities in Delhi
• Children were aged 7-14 years and matched on socio-economic background
• The Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to measure emotional and behavioural issues
• Child labourers demonstrated greater emotional difficulties than school-going children
• The study highlights emotional and psychological impacts of child labour that had previously received limited research attention

Limitations

The study does not describe the specific types of work children performed, the duration of their labour involvement, or the specific emotional/behavioural difficulties measured beyond general reference to SDQ domains. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether child labour causes these difficulties or whether children with emotional difficulties are more likely to enter labour.