Peer-reviewed article
A comparative study of child labour and school going adolescents in relation to their emotional maturity
Rashmi Rashmi ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study compared emotional maturity between 80 adolescents in India, including 30 child labourers and 50 regular school students. Emotional maturity was measured using a standardized scale and analysed through statistical tests. The study found no significant difference in emotional maturity between the two groups of adolescents. The researchers suggest this unexpected result may reflect the particular socio-cultural context of India.
Key points
- Sample comprised 30 child labourers and 50 regular school-going adolescents from Aligarh city
- Child labourers were recruited from canteens, shops, and markets
- No significant difference in emotional maturity scores between child labour and school-going groups
- Emotional maturity measured using the Singh-Bhargava scale
- Results analysed using descriptive statistics and t-tests
Limitations
The study uses purposive sampling from a single city, limiting generalisability to other regions or populations. The cross-sectional design cannot establish whether child labour causes differences in emotional maturity or examine causal pathways.
Abstract
The present study aims to explore emotional maturity among child labour and regular school going adolescents. For the said purpose sample of the study comprises of 80 adolescents out of whom 50 are regular school going and rests 30 were child labour selected purposively from different schools, canteen, shops, and markets of Aligarh city where they are educating and working. Emotional maturity Scale developed by Dr. Yashvir Singh and Dr. Mahesh Bhargava (1991) was employed to collect the necessary data. The data was then analyzed through descriptive statistics and t-test with the help of SPSS 21. The findings of the study revealed no significant difference among the two groups viz, child labour and regular school going adolescents so far as their emotional maturity is concerned. The result obtained is further discussed and interpreted in terms of socio-cultural milieu prevailing in the present Indian scenario.