| Abstract [eng] |
SUMMARY PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL PECULIARITIES OF CHILDREN FROM THE FAMILIES AT SOCIAL RISK Children’s psychic health is of great value and the society should appreciate it and allow the personality to mature harmoniously. Children at social risk are more often neglected; they are under compulsion that is why their physical, intellectual and spiritual development is at risk. While planning assistance it is necessary to assess the surroundings of the child and analyse the factors of risk. The aim of the final paper is to analyse psychological and social peculiarities of children from the families at social risk taking into consideration the surroundings of the children. 46 children (7-10 years old) from the families at social risk took part in the research. The research was performed using the questionnaire method, Skills and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ, Goodman, 1997) and the questionnaire to assess the social surroundings of the child. The latter questionnaire was given to the teachers, parents and social workers. The results of the research proved that children from the families at social risk have worse psychic health than their contemporaries who do not live in the families at social risk. Teachers notice that those children have more emotional problems, whereas parents point out the symptoms of hyperactivity. Parents do not notice emotional problems of their children and do not refer to specialists. More than one third of the children from the families at social risk have special needs in education. However, 65 per cent parents do not show any interest or show very little interest in their children’s results and behavior at school. Children from the families at social risk are not liked by other children, it is difficult for them to find friends, though they like playing with children, drawing and colouring books. The greatest problems in the families at social risk are little income, addiction to alcohol, lack of social skills. However, parents do not accept the problems that depend on their own behavior. Social workers point out that 54,3 per cent families at social risk have very bad relationship, though only 4,3 per cent families admitted having bad relationship. The community supports those families at social risk with material help. Families and children expect very little psychological assistance. Social behavior, after-school activities, good relations with contemporaries and adults could be mentioned as protective factors for the children. Whereas violence in the family, security risk persons visiting those families play a negative role. Children from the families, where acts of violence are committed, suffer from emotional problems; they get into conflicts with their contemporaries more often. And the child gets the smallest help from his nearest surroundings, i. e. the family, which is a very important factor of his or her psychic health. |
