Future expectations of brasilian street youth

Marcela Raffaelli, Silvia H. Koller

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Future expectations of youth surviving on the streets of Porto Alegre, Brasil, were examined. The sample consisted of 35 boys and 34 girls aged 10 18 (M age 14.4) who participated in a sentence completion task and semi-structured interviews. Responses to two incomplete sentences regarding the future revealed a mismatch between hoped-for and expected events. W hen completing the sentence, “In the future, I hope…” the majority of youth gave optimistic (but generally non-specific) responses. In contrast, the sentence “For me, the future…” elicited more pessimistic responses. Few gender or age-related differences emerged. Findings are discussed in light of prior research with general populations of adolescents as well as studies of street youth. Taken as a whole, results suggest that life on the street shapes and constrains how youth see their futures. Implications of the findings for policy makers and practitioners are addressed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationChildren's Services in the Developing World
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages181-193
Number of pages13
ISBN (Electronic)9781351952224
ISBN (Print)9780754627791
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2017
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Social Sciences

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