Individuals’ attitudes influence their behaviour towards children, including whether children’s rights and welfare are promoted. The attitudes generally present in a society shape a culture of how children are perceived and treated. This study explored the attitudes and knowledge of 300 Indian parents and teachers regarding children’s rights, and their perceptions about whether selected rights were secured in reality. Findings revealed that most parents and teachers had positive attitudes about children’s rights, including rights to health and education, and freedom from child marriage and inappropriate work. Yet, about one quarter of participants did not think children should have the rights to freedom of expression and association. Knowledge of laws promoting children’s rights was poor. Most parents and teachers perceived a denial of seven key rights in Indian children’s lived experience. Overall, findings suggest a need to heighten awareness of children’s rights and needs, which can improve attitudes towards the treatment of children. Efforts to heighten awareness and attitudes towards children’s rights are needed across society and in key sectors to enhance children’s lived experience.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
Aggarwal K. et al., ‘Recommendations on recognition and response to child abuse and neglect in the Indian setting’, Indian Pediatrics 47(2010): 493–504.
Ajzen I., Attitudes, Personality and Behavior (2nd ed., Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2005).
Ajzen I., Fishbein M., , ‘The influence of attitudes on behaviour’. In The Handbook of Attitudes. eds. Albarracin D., Johnson B., Mark Zanna M. (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 2005) 173–221.
Bal B. et al., ‘Nontobacco substance use, sexual abuse, HIV, and sexually transmitted infection among street children in Kolkata, India’, Substance Use & Misuse 45(2010): 1668–1682.
Ben-Arieh A., Khoury-Kassabri M., Haj-Yahia M., ‘Generational, ethnic, and national differences in attitudes toward the rights of children in Israel and Palestine’, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 76(3)(2006): 381–388.
Bhattacharyya A.K., ‘Child abuse in India and nutritionally battered child’, Child Abuse and Neglect 3(1979): 607–614.
Black R. et al., ‘Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2008: A systematic analysis’, Lancet 375(2010): 1969–1987.
Bunting L., Webb M., Healy J., ‘In two minds? Parental attitudes toward physical punishment in the UK’, Children and Society 24(5)(2010): 359–370.
Casas F. et al., ‘Children’s rights from the point of view of children, their parents and their teachers: A comparative study between Catalonia (Spain) and Il Molise (Italy)’, The International Journal of Children's Rights 14(1)(2006): 1–75.
Chen J., Dunne M., Han P., ‘Prevention of child sexual abuse in China: Knowledge, attitudes, and communication practices of parents of elementary school children’, Child Abuse & Neglect 31(2007): 747–755.
Chen L. et al., ‘Sexual abuse and lifetime diagnosis of psychiatric disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis’, Mayo Clinic Proceedings 85(2010): 618–629.
Day D., Peterson-Badali M., Ruck M., ‘The relationship between maternal attitudes and young people’s attitudes toward children’s rights’, Journal of Adolescence 29(2006): 193–207.
Deb S., ‘Child abuse and neglect in a Metropolitan City: A qualitative study of migrant child labour in South Kolkata’, Social Change 35(3)(2005): 56–67.
Deb S., Chatterjee P., Walsh K., ‘Anxiety among high school students in India: Comparisons across gender, school type, social strata, and perceptions of quality time with parents’, Australian Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology 10(1)(2010): 18–31.
Deb S., Mukherjee A., Mathews B., ‘Aggression in sexually abused trafficked girls and efficacy of intervention’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence 26(4)(2011): 745–768.
de Silva W., ‘Some cultural and economic factors leading to neglect, abuse, and violence in respect of children within the family in Sri Lanka’, Child Abuse & Neglect 5(1981): 391–405.
Egeland B., ‘Taking stock: Childhood emotional maltreatment and developmental psychopathology’, Child Abuse & Neglect 33(2009): 22–26.
Finkelhor D. et al., ‘Trends in childhood violence and abuse exposure: Evidence from 2 national surveys’, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 164(3)(2010): 238–242.
Gershoff E., ‘Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review’, Psychological Bulletin 128(2002): 539–579.
Ghosh B., ‘Trafficking in women and children in India: Nature, dimensions and strategies for prevention’, International Journal of Children's Rights 13(5)(2009): 716–738.
Gilbert R. et al., ‘Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries’, Lancet 373(9657)(2009): 68–81.
Government of Tripura, Human Development Report (2007), accessed 4 June 2010, http://www.agrarianstudies.org/pages.asp?menuid=19.
Hannum E., Kong P., Zhang Y., ‘Family sources of educational gender inequality in rural China: A critical assessment’, International Journal of Educational Development 29(2009): 474–486.
Hildyard K., Wolfe D., ‘Child neglect: Developmental issues and outcomes’, Child Abuse & Neglect 26(2002): 679–695.
Hunt L., Inventing Human Rights: A History (New York: W.W. Norton, 2007).
Hunter W. et al., ‘Risk factors for severe child discipline practices in Rural India’, Journal of Pediatric Psychology 25(6)(2000): 435–447.
Hyder A., Malik F., ‘Violence against children: A challenge for public health in Pakistan’, Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition 25(2)(2007): 168–178.
International Institute for Population Sciences and Macro International, National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3): 2005-06: India (Mumbai: International Institute for Population Sciences and Macro International, 2007).
Kempe C. et al., ‘The battered-child syndrome’, Journal of the American Medical Association 181(1962): 17–24.
Korbin J., ‘The cultural context of child abuse and neglect’, Child Abuse and Neglect 4(1980): 3–13.
Lansford J. et al., ‘A 12 year prospective study of the long-term effects of early child physical maltreatment on psychological, behavioural, and academic problems in adolescence’, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 156(2002): 824–830.
Mathur M., Rathore P., Mathur M., ‘Incidence, type and intensity of abuse in street children in India’, Child Abuse & Neglect 33(2009): 907–913.
May-Chahal C., Cawson P., ‘Measuring child maltreatment in the United Kingdom: A study of the prevalence of child abuse and neglect’, Child Abuse & Neglect 29(2005): 969–984.
Mehta M. et al., ‘“Rape” in children’, Child Abuse and Neglect 3(1979): 671–677.
Ministry of Women and Child Development, Study on Child Abuse: India 2007(New Delhi: Government of India, 2007), accessed 22 September2011, http://wcd.nic.in/childabuse.pdf.
National Crime Records Bureau, Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India: 2009(Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, 2010) 180, accessed 28 September2011, http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-ADSI2009/ADSI2009.htm.
Nguyen H., Dunne M., Le A., ‘Multiple types of child maltreatment and adolescent mental health in Viet Nam’, Bulletin of the World Health Organization 88(1)(2010): 22–30.
Office of the Registrar General, Government of India, Census of India (New Delhi: Government of India, 2001), accessed 19 September 2011, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/India_at_glance/popu1.aspx.
Paolucci E., Genuis M., Violato C., ‘A meta-analysis of the published research on the effects of child sexual abuse’, The Journal of Psychology 135(2001): 17–36.
Paul V. et al., ‘Reproductive health, and child health and nutrition in India: meeting the challenge’, Lancet 377(2011): 332–349.
Perry B., ‘Childhood experience and the expression of genetic potential: What childhood neglect tells us about nature and nurture’, Brain and Mind 3(1)(2002): 79–100.
Physicians for Human Rights Child Rights Group, ‘Child labour in India: A health and human rights perspective’, The Lancet Extreme Medicine 362(2003): 32–33.
Puri S. et al., ‘“There is such a thing as too many daughters, but not too many sons”: A qualitative study of son preference and fetal sex selection among Indian immigrants in the United States’, Social Science & Medicine 72(2011): 1169–1176.
Putnam F., ‘Ten-year research update review: Child sexual abuse’, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 42(2003): 269–278.
Raj A. et al., ‘Prevalence of child marriage and its effect on fertility and fertility-control outcomes of young women in India: A cross-sectional, observational study’, Lancet 373(2009): 1883–1889.
Reddy K. et al., ‘Towards achievement of universal healthcare in India by 2020: A call to action’, Lancet 377(2011): 760–768.
Ronan K., Canoy D., Burke K., ‘Child maltreatment: prevalence, risk, solutions, obstacles’, Australian Psychologist 44(3)(2009): 195–213.
Runyan D. et al., ‘International variations in harsh child discipline’, Indian Pediatrics 126(3)(2010): e701–e711, e708–e709.
Segal U., ‘Child abuse in India: An empirical report on perceptions’, Child Abuse & Neglect 16(1992): 887–908.
Segal U., ‘Child abuse by the middle class? A study of professionals in India’, Child Abuse & Neglect 19(1995): 217–231.
Sen S., Trafficking in Women and Children in India (New Delhi: National Human Rights Commission, 2005).
Springer K. et al., ‘Long-term physical and mental health consequences of childhood physical abuse: Results from a large population-based sample of men and women’, Child Abuse & Neglect 31(2007): 517–530.
Svevo-Cianci K., Hart S., Rubinson C., ‘Protecting children from violence and child maltreatment: A qualitative comparative analysis assessing the implementation of U.N.CRC Article 19’, Child Abuse & Neglect 34(2010): 45–56.
Tyler K., ‘Social and emotional outcomes of childhood sexual abuse: A review of recent research’, Aggression and Violent Behavior 7(2002): 567–589.
UNICEF, India: Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival(2008), accessed 22 September 2011, http://www.childinfo.org/profiles.html.
Verma R. et al., ‘Challenging and changing gender attitudes among young men in Mumbai, India’, Reproductive Health Medicine 14(28)(2006): 135–143.
Vissing Y. et al., ‘Verbal aggression by parents and psychosocial problems of children’, Child Abuse & Neglect 15(1991): 223–238.
Yeatman G. et al., ‘Pseudobattering in Vietnamese children’, Pediatrics 58(1976): 616–618.
When data was collected (2008) the legislation setting down the machinery for this had not been enacted. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was passed on 4 August 2009.
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 1394 | 403 | 40 |
Full Text Views | 212 | 28 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 91 | 52 | 0 |
Individuals’ attitudes influence their behaviour towards children, including whether children’s rights and welfare are promoted. The attitudes generally present in a society shape a culture of how children are perceived and treated. This study explored the attitudes and knowledge of 300 Indian parents and teachers regarding children’s rights, and their perceptions about whether selected rights were secured in reality. Findings revealed that most parents and teachers had positive attitudes about children’s rights, including rights to health and education, and freedom from child marriage and inappropriate work. Yet, about one quarter of participants did not think children should have the rights to freedom of expression and association. Knowledge of laws promoting children’s rights was poor. Most parents and teachers perceived a denial of seven key rights in Indian children’s lived experience. Overall, findings suggest a need to heighten awareness of children’s rights and needs, which can improve attitudes towards the treatment of children. Efforts to heighten awareness and attitudes towards children’s rights are needed across society and in key sectors to enhance children’s lived experience.
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 1394 | 403 | 40 |
Full Text Views | 212 | 28 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 91 | 52 | 0 |