Psychological characteristics of South African street children.

Millions of children worldwide are subjected to poverty, abuse, and neglect, yet only a minority choose to abandon their homes in search of a supposedly better life on the street. This article seeks to identify the psychological characteristics that predispose certain children to run away and to survive, often for long periods, on the streets of South Africa. Vulnerability and resilience are examined, as well as social conditions that mediate the psychological predisposition to become a street child.