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School Psychology International
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An Exploration of Meanings

Tendencies towards Developmental Risk and Resilience in a Group of South African Ex-Street Children

David Donald

Jennifer Wallis

University of Cape Town, South Africa

Annette Cockburn

The Homestead Projects for Street Children, South Africa

Research on South African street children has pointed to an apparent paradox in terms of vulnerability and resilience, requiring a closer examination of how street children make meaning of their lives as well as the contexts in which these meanings are constructed. This study makes use of a variety of data, including drawings, stories and spontaneous drama to access commonly manifested themes and patterns of interaction among a small group of ex-street children attending a voluntary, non-formal learning centre in Cape Town. Over four months of participant observation, consistent themes and patterns of interaction were identified and interpreted in terms of shortterm adaptation and/or longer-term protection or risk within the overall context. The most consistent tendencies towards resilience involved themes of autonomy and the power to control events, both closely related to themes and patterns of peer group solidarity. Within the context, tendencies towards risk were closely integrated with the above. Combined with a general suspicion and wariness of adults, the drive for autonomy, in particular, was in conflict with signs of underlying insecurity and tended to undermine the development of relationships with potentially caring adults.

School Psychology International, Vol. 18, No. 2, 137-154 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/0143034397182003
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