Social Adjustment of Institutionalized Children under Need Care and Protection in Assam

Abstract

Children are the backbone and future generation of the society and also preserve the societal culture and traditions of the society. Due to various reasons some children who are extremely poor, orphan, abandoned, sexually victimized children or neglected, children have to live without their families and they grow up in Child Care Institution (CCI). It is a temporarily organized residential care for children where alternative care is provided who are in need of care and protection. Institutionalization refers to the process of embedding something within an organization, social system or society as a whole. It aims to integrate fundamental values and objectives into the organization's culture and structure. Separation from the home or family environment, deprivation of parental care, love, affection, warmth, security, acceptance and discipline during childhood and adolescence may disrupt their normal development. The present study was conducted to study the social adjustment of these institutionalized children under the age group of 14 to 18 years. The sample was taken from child care institutions run by the Government of Assam and NGO of Assam. Total of 100 children was taken (50 male and 50 female). The adjustment Inventory for school student Developed by Sinha and Singh (1993) was used for the purpose. Descriptive statistics of social adjustment indicates low social stability among institutionalised children. Result revealed a significant difference between male and female in case of social adjustment. However, the result needs to be verified by using another test too.