빈곤청소년의 복지실태 및 욕구에 관한 연구 = A study on the current state of welfare and needs of adolescents in poverty

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study intended to examine the current state of welfare and needs of adolescents in poverty in order to establish youth welfare policy from a human rights perspective. According to UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, needs of adolescents are categorized as needs to survive, needs to develop to the fullest, needs to protect from abuse and exploitation, and needs to participate fully in family and social life. Participants are 601 poor adolescents from 16 nationwide cities/provinces who receive financial sponsorship from Korea Welfare Foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The results of this study are as follows: 1) Contrary to our general expectation, adolescents in poverty actually do good in terms of psychological, emotional, and cognitive development. 2) In general, parental absence puts adolescents at risk. Surprisingly, in comparison to poor adolescents living in other family types, poor adolescents living in two-parent families are more likely to be abused and have low self-esteem. In addition, poor adolescents in two-parent families are more likely linked to depression and delinquency. These results suggest that parent presence in not sole protective factor in poor families. It may mean that more attention is needed for poor adolescents in two-parent family. Implications for youth welfare policy for adolescents in poverty are discussed.