Childhood exposure to birth registration laws and old-age mortality.

This paper studies the effects of the enactment of birth registration laws, as the official universal and uniform method of recording births, across US states in the first decades of the 20th century on old-age longevity for children affected by these laws. We show that establishing birth registration laws has long-term benefits for old-age health. The benefits are primarily driven by states with an effective child labor policy, suggesting that registering births helps the enforcement of child labor laws which in turn operate as the mechanism channel to improve old-age longevity. A treatment-on-treated calculation suggests an increase of 0.6 years of longevity from not working during childhood due to the birth registration law.

Child Labor in the State of Amazonas: Invisibility of the Notification System.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of reported cases of child labor in general and to compare official reported child labor data with data on sexual exploitation and occupational accidents involving children and adolescents between 2017 and 2021. METHODS: Descriptive study based on data from the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System about child labor, work accidents and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents aged between 5 and 17 years. Annual disease notification rates were calculated and grouped by mesoregions of the state of Amazonas. RESULTS: From 2017 to 2021, there were 312 reports of situations of child labor, being 46.8% involving children and 53.2% involving adolescents. Of these notifications, 20 corresponded to child labor itself, 141 to child and adolescent sexual exploitation, and 151 to work-related accidents involving children and adolescents. The South and Center regions were the ones that most underreported child sexual exploitation as child labor. The Southwest and South mesoregions, on the other hand, were the ones that most underreported work accidents involving children and adolescents as child labor. CONCLUSION: Child labor in Amazonas basically stems from sexual exploitation and, even though it is underreported, it is frequent, although uneven between regions. Confronting the problem in the state necessarily involves improving the information system in order to acknowledge the actual dimension of the problem and then define intervention measures and logistics.

Threat biases associate with anxiety and depression in physically-abused young people with a history of child labour.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Young people who have experienced early-life maltreatment preferentially attend to threat and draw more threatening interpretations. In turn, these threat biases may explain elevated risk for lifelong anxiety and/or depression. We investigated whether adolescent labourers with a history of physical abuse showed threat biases relative to non-abused labourers, and whether these threat biases associated with anxiety and depression. METHODS: 100 young people (aged 13-18 years, 64% female) from Nepal rescued from illegal child work were assessed for childhood maltreatment and anxiety and/or depression disorders. Participants completed an emotional visual search task (to measure attention engagement of positive versus negative faces) and an ambiguous scenarios questionnaire (to measure the endorsement of negative versus benign interpretations). RESULTS: Seventy young people reported a history of physical (and emotional) abuse. They were more likely to meet symptom thresholds for depression, and marginally, for anxiety disorders than non-physically abused participants. Abused and non-abused participants did not differ on attention engagement/disengagement of threat or on interpretational style. Abused participants with anxiety were slower to disengage from negative faces to engage with a positive face than non-anxious abused participants. Abused participants with depression endorsed more negative interpretations of ambiguous situations than those without depression. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional design limits our ability to infer whether threat biases reflect risk markers of psychopathology. CONCLUSIONS: If threat biases are shown to confer risk for anxiety and depression in future studies, they could be targeted in mental health prevention programs for these vulnerable young people.

Work-related injuries among 5 - 17 years-old working children in Egypt: findings from a national child labor survey.

BACKGROUND: Egypt has agreed and ratified international regulations that strict child labor. However, the country still struggles with high prevalence of child labor and the associated negative social and health effects. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence and determinants of work-related injuries among working children in Egypt. METHODS: This study involved a secondary data analysis of the National Child Labor Survey (NCLS) conducted in 2010 by The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in Egypt with technical and financial support from the ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) through its Statistical Information and Monitoring Program on Child Labor (SIMPOC). The total number of working children who responded to questions of work-related injuries in the NCLS child questionnaire was 7485 children. RESULTS: The prevalence of work-related injuries among working children in Egypt was estimated as 24.1% (95% CI: 22.0%-26.2%), of whom the majority were superficial wounds (87.3%). Among children who reported work-related injuries, 57.9% did not stop work or schooling because of the most serious injury, while 39.6% had stopped temporarily and 2.6% had stopped completely. The main determinants of work-related injuries among working children in the study sample were gender (boys), age of starting work (5-11 years), type of main economic activity (industry and services), type of main workplace (plantation, farms, or garden), the average work hours per week (28 h or more), and exposure to ergonomic and safety, and chemical hazards at work. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated high prevalence of work-related injuries among working children aged 5-17 years in Egypt raises the health risks concerns associated with child labor. Findings of this study on the determinants of work-related injuries could guide policies and interventions to combat child labor and the associated health risks, including work-related injuries.

Child Labor and Psychosocial Wellbeing: Findings from Ethiopia.

For children who work, there has been little research into the intricate relationship between their home lives and their work lives and the implications that this relationship might hold for their psychosocial development and functioning. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Amhara region, Ethiopia, between March and April 2020 on a sample of 1311 working children with the aim, in part, of exploring ways in which various dimensions of children's psychological wellbeing are influenced by their working conditions and their family contexts. In addition to collecting data on some personal traits, family relationships, home environments, and detailed occupational characteristics, we gathered information on psychosocial wellbeing using 22 items from the Instrument for the Psychosocial Assessment of Working Children (IPAC). Exploratory factor analysis enabled us to identify five factors characterizing the dimensions of psychosocial wellbeing: work-related self-esteem, work-related stress, workplace supervision, emotional and somatic wellbeing, and self-determination. Linear regressions of these factors were then conducted on social, occupational, and environmental variables. We found that all dimensions of psychosocial wellbeing were significantly associated with the children's working conditions. Of particular interest, work-related dimensions of wellbeing, such as stress, self-esteem, and supervision, were significantly associated with the characteristics of the home and family environment. These findings illustrate that work and working conditions must be considered jointly, along with family life and home environments, as factors in both environments affect working children's socioemotional development and wellbeing. They also strengthen the call for a systemic approach to protecting children involved in child labor, in which families are central to all discussions.

Labor trafficking of children and youth in the United States: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Child labor trafficking is a largely unexplored and unpublished phenomenon in the United States. OBJECTIVE: To 1) characterize the state of the science on child labor trafficking, and 2) identify empirical information regarding risk and protective factors, and physical/behavioral health needs of labor-trafficked children/adolescents. METHODS: This scoping review involved an electronic review of five databases; the search was restricted to studies in English or Spanish and published between Jan 1, 2010-Oct 16, 2020. The search yielded 1190 articles; 48 studies qualified for full review and 8 met inclusion criteria (US-based study addressing risk factors/vulnerabilities for child labor trafficking; protective factors; health impact; or health/behavioral healthcare). RESULTS: Only one study had sufficient sample size to compare sex to labor trafficking among minors; some did not separate data by age group or by type of trafficking. A few shared data from a common source; one was a single case review. Findings suggested that sex and labor trafficking may share common risk factors (e.g., prior child maltreatment and out-of-home placement) as well as within group differences (e.g., labor trafficked children had less prior child welfare involvement than those involved in sex trafficking and were more likely to be younger, male, Black or non-white, and Hispanic). Multiple physical/behavioral health symptoms were reported and may be useful items for a healthcare screen. CONCLUSIONS: Child labor trafficking research in the U.S. is in its infancy, although the results of this review point to opportunities for screening and case conceptualization that may be useful to practitioners.

Detección de la explotación sexual en la infancia y la adolescenciamediante la evaluación de indicadores de riesgo en España / Detection of Child Sexual Exploitation Through the Evaluation of Risk Indica- tors in Spain

La explotación sexual infantil y adolescente en España es un problema que requiere de una detección temprana de susvíctimas. Son escasas las herramientas que permitan llevar a cabo esta detección y no se dispone de ninguna en lenguaespañola. En este estudio se presenta una herramienta para la valoración del riesgo de sufrir explotación sexual enmenores desde los 11 años mediante la selección de aquellos indicadores que mejor la predicen. A partir de una revisiónsistemática de publicaciones en Europa, se preparó una batería de indicadores, los cuales fueron estudiados y filtradosen una consulta a expertos mediante panel Delphi para generar el primer instrumento que fue sometido a valoración enuna segunda fase de consulta con profesionales considerados como pares. El diseño final se acabó de perfilar por cuatroexpertos de universidades españolas. La herramienta de detección del riesgo de explotación sexual en la infancia yadolescencia EDR-ESIA ha demostrado ser un buen instrumento de detección y cribado, para su aplicación en servicioseducativos, de atención primaria de salud y servicios sociales de nuestro país.(AU)

Child sexual exploitation in Spain is a problem that requires the early detection of victims. There are few tools thatenable this detection, and none are available in Spanish. This study presents a tool for assessing the risk of sufferingsexual exploitation in minors from 11 years of age, by selecting the indicators that best predict it. Based on a systematicreview of publications in Europe, a battery of indicators was prepared, then studied and filtered via consultation withexperts using a Delphi panel to create the first instrument, which was then evaluated in a second phase consultationwith professionals considered as peers. The final construct was completed by four experts from Spanish universities.The tool for detecting the risk of sexual exploitation in childhood and adolescence, EDR-ESIA, has proven to be a gooddetection and screening instrument, for application in educational services, primary health care, and social services.(AU)

Social Norms and Family Child Labor: A Systematic Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Research has established the family as the predominant context for child labor practices. Decisions to involve children in child labor within the family or by a family member (herein family child labor) is strongly motivated by cultural beliefs that normalize child labor. This systematic review sought to synthesize evidence on the social norms that support child labor practices, and the normative interpretation of international child labor legislation/standards. METHODS: We followed the PRISMA procedure for systematic review by reviewing empirical articles published between 2000 to 2021 and contained within the four key databases: Scopus, ISI Web of Sciences, PubMed and Embase. Findings from 13 articles that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed thematically. RESULTS: The review included studies from three continents: Africa, Asia and Europe. Gender norms, informal apprenticeship norm, norms on succession and sustenance as well as obedience, were key social norms that influenced child labor practices in the family. Parents' decision to involve children in child labor was strongly influenced by the collective acceptance of some occupations (e.g., cocoa farming and fishing) as family occupations, which need to be preserved, undertaken and passed on to children. Child rights and the UNCRC principle of children's participation were considered foreign to most non-western countries and interpreted as contravention to the cherished social norm of obedience. The findings underlie the link between social norms and the common social values of resilience, hard work, and respect. CONCLUSION: The results provide foundations and target to develop normative change intervention programs to re-orient the negative interpretations of common social values and provide alternative pathways that prevent child labor within the social context.

Evaluation of beliefs and attitudes among caregivers of child labor about mental disorders first aid and stigma.

BACKGROUND: The beliefs and attitudes of caregivers of working children about mental health issues and first aid and their attitudes about the stigma of mental health problems can affect their motivation to seek professional help for affected children. This study aimed to assess the mental health literacy among caregivers of child labor about first aid for mental health and their attitudes about the stigma of mental disorders. METHODS: The Depression Health Literacy Questionnaire has been used in this cross-sectional study. All caregivers of working children who were willing to participate were included in the study. This group is covered by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) located in the 17th district of Tehran. RESULTS: Questionnaires completed by 131 caregivers were analyzed. The average age of the participants was 32.6 (± 7.9) years. Of which 130 (99.2%) were mothers. Amongst, only 37 individuals (28.2%) were confident in their ability to help their children in case of depression symptoms. A majority of participants, 109 (83.2%), believed that asking a depressed child about suicidal ideation was harmful. CONCLUSION: According to the findings of this study, the literacy among caregivers of child labor about mental health first aid in our study needs to be improved. There is also a need for educational and community-based programs to reduce the stigma about mental health disorders, including depression.

Características neuropsiquiátricas de menores trabajadores y no trabajadores pertenecientes a una Institución Educativa en Colombia / Neuropsychiatric characteristics of working and non-working minors belonging to an Educational Institution in Colombia / Características neuropsiquiátricas de menores trabalhadores e não trabalhadores pertencentes a uma Instituição Educativa na Colômbia

Objetivo: determinar las funciones cognitivas afectadas en un grupo menores trabajadores y la diferencia en el perfil neuropsiquiátrico de estos respecto a un grupo de menores no trabajadores. Metodología: investigación de diseño no experimental, de tipo transversal, prospectivo y analítico con un muestreo aleatorio simple. Resultados: el trabajo infantil no afecta todas las funciones cognitivas. Los puntajes obtenidos en las pruebas de habilidades gráficas, percepción táctil, percepción auditiva, memoria de evocación visual, lenguaje de repetición, lenguaje de comprensión, habilidades espaciales y atención auditiva estaban en rangos normales para ambos grupos. Sin embargo, los puntajes en las pruebas de construcción con palillos, memoria de codificación visual, percepción visual, memoria de evocación auditiva, lenguaje expresivo, atención visual, habilidades conceptuales, fluidez verbal y fluidez gráfica se encuentran por debajo de lo esperado para ambos grupos. Conclusión: las dificultades que presentan tanto el grupo de menores trabajadores como el de no trabajadores se podrían explicar por las condiciones de vida de la población, lo que suscita la hipótesis de que la pobreza y la escasez en la estimulación ambiental afectan el desarrollo cognitivo tanto como el trabajo infantil.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the cognitive functions affected in a group of working minors and the difference in their neuropsychiatric profile as compared to that of a group of non-working minors. Methodology: non-experimental, cross-sectional, prospective and analytical design with a simple random sampling. Results: It was observed that child labor does not affect all cognitive functions. The scores obtained in the graphic skills, tactile perception, auditory perception, visual evocation memory, repetition language, comprehension language, spatial skills and auditory attention tests are in normal ranges for both groups. However, the scores on the stick construction, visual coding memory, visual perception, auditory evocation memory, expressive language, visual attention, conceptual skills, verbal fluency, and graphic fluency tests are lower than expected for both groups. Conclusion: The difficulties presented by both the group of working minors and nonworking minors could be explained by the conditions of the population, which raises the hypothesis that the conditions of poverty and scarcity in the environmental stimulation to which children are exposed in non-working minors affect cognitive development as much as child labor.

Objetivo: determinar as funções cognitivas afetadas num grupo menores trabalhadorese a diferença no perfil neuropsiquiátrico destes com respeito a um grupo de menores não trabalhadores. Metodologia: investigação de desenho não experimental, de tipo transversal, prospectivo e analítico com uma amostragem aleatório simples. Resultados: o trabalho infantil não afeta todas as funções cognitivas. As pontuações obtidas nas provas de habilidades gráficas, percepção táctil, percepção auditiva, memóriade evocação visual, linguagem de repetição, linguagem de compreensão, habilidades espaciais e atenção auditiva estavam em faixas normais para ambos os grupos. Embora, as pontuações nas provas de construção com pauzinhos, memória de codificação visual, percepção visual, memória de evocação auditiva, linguagem expressivo, atenção visual, habilidades conceptuais, fluidez verbal e fluidez gráfica se encontram por debaixo do esperado para ambos os grupos. Conclusão: as dificuldades que apresentam tanto no grupo de menores trabalhadores quanto no de não trabalhadores se poderiam explicar pelas condições de vida da população, o que suscita a hipótese de que a pobreza e a escassez na estimulação ambiental afetam o desenvolvimento cognitivo tanto como o trabalho infantil.

Genomic and serological assessment of asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in child labor.

Since working children have limited access to testing and monitoring for COVID-19, we decided to measure SARS-CoV-2 prevalence among them and compare it to non-working children. Our objective is to compare the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 genome and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody among working and non-working children. Volunteer child labor studying at Defense of Child Labor and Street Children and randomly selected 5-18-year-old (same range as child labor group) unemployed children participated in this study. The groups, respectively, had 65 and 137 members. This is an analytical cross-sectional study that surveys molecular prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-PCR, and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody by ELISA in working and non-working children. The IBM SPSS statistics software version 25 was used for data analysis. The χ2 or Fisher's exact test was used to analyze categorical dependent variables, for calculating odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Among the children enrolled in this study, molecular prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 turned out to be 18.5% in working children while it was 5.8% in unemployed children [aOR: 3.00 (CI95%: 1.00-7.00); P value: 0.003] and seroprevalence turned out to be 20% in working children vs 13.9% in non-working children [aOR: 1.000 (CI95%: 0.00-2.00); > P 0.001]. Equal SARS-CoV-2 viral load as adults and no symptoms or mild ones in children, coupled with working children's strong presence in crowded areas and their higher rate of COVID-19 prevalence, make them a probable source for spread of the virus.

Child Labor and Sex Trafficking.

Regardless of their practice setting or subspecialty, pediatricians are likely to encounter children who have experienced sex or labor trafficking or who are at risk for exploitation. Only 24.1% of health professionals in one study reported receiving previous training on human trafficking; after a brief presentation on the topic, 39.6% indicated that they knew or suspected they had cared for a trafficked person in the past 3 months. Trafficked and exploited children can present with myriad physical or mental health conditions; most have experienced repeated, significant trauma; and few are likely to spontaneously disclose their exploitative situation. As a result, clinicians face challenges in recognizing and appropriately responding to potential human trafficking. Knowledge of common risk factors and potential indicators of exploitation can assist the pediatrician in recognizing affected and at-risk youth. However, health professionals report that existing training tends to focus on general information about trafficking, with relatively little time spent discussing the specifics of the trauma-informed approach to patient interactions. Given the critical importance of building patient trust, empowering patients to share their concerns, and engaging them in their own care and safety planning, this article focuses on the practical aspects of working with trafficked and exploited children. A brief overview of human trafficking is followed by an extensive discussion of rights-based, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed strategies for interacting with vulnerable patients.

Significados e interpretaciones del trabajo infantil en contexto rural y urbano / Meanings and interpretations of child labor in rural and urban contexts / Significados e interpretações do trabalho infantil em contextos rurais e urbanos

Resumen (analítico) El artículo propicia la comprensión del problema del trabajo infantil rural y urbano desde perspectiva interpretativa, a partir de los significados y las conceptualizaciones de las acciones de la práctica del trabajo, propias de niños y niñas en una zona rural del municipio de Tello y en la ciudad de Neiva en el departamento del Huila, Colombia. El enfoque metodológico empleado es una aproximación a la teoría fundamentada, configurada a partir de tres substanciales categorías: el capital social, el reconocimiento y el enfoque de capacidades. Se producen hallazgos respecto a la diferenciación sobre la lectura que los niños y niñas construyen sobre el significado de trabajo infantil remunerado, doméstico y relacionado con la dinámica y los vínculos que se tejen en el hogar y el entorno escuela.

Abstract (analytical) The paper seeks to understand the problem of rural and urban child labor using an interpretive perspective based on the meanings and conceptualizations of child labour in in the rural municipality of Tello and the city of Neiva, both located in the department of Huila, Colombia. The methodological approach used is an approximation of grounded theory that is configured with three categories: social capital; recognition; and the capabilities approach. The authors identify differentiations in the meanings constructed by children regarding the meaning of paid child labor, domestic work and the dynamics and links that form part of their home and school environments.

Resumo (analítico) Este artigo promove a compreensão da problemática do trabalho infantil rural e urbano em uma perspectiva interpretativa, a partir dos significados e conceituações das ações da prática laboral, típicas de meninos e meninas de uma zona rural do município de Tello e na cidade de Neiva no departamento de Huila, Colômbia. A abordagem metodológica empregada é uma aproximação à teoria fundamentada, configurada a partir de três categorias substanciais: capital social, reconhecimento e abordagem das capacidades. São produzidos resultados sobre a diferenciação na leitura que meninos e meninas constroem sobre o significado de trabalho infantil remunerado, trabalho doméstico e em relação às dinâmicas e vínculos que se tecem no ambiente doméstico e escolar.

Child Labor in Family Tobacco Farms in Southern Brazil: Occupational Exposure and Related Health Problems.

Tobacco farming is considered Hazardous Child Labor in Brazil. This study examined the work of children and adolescents in tobacco farming, characterizing the level of urinary cotinine and the occurrence of Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS), pesticide poisoning, respiratory symptoms, and musculoskeletal disorders. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with a random sample of tobacco growers under 18 years old in Southern Brazil. Ninety-nine young people were interviewed at 79 family farms. The majority began working in agriculture before they were 14 and worked harvesting and tying hands of tobacco; 60% were 16 or 17 years old, and 51.5% were male. During their lifetime, 24.5% reported GTS, and 3% reported pesticide poisoning. In the previous year, 29.3% reported low back pain, 6.1% wheezing, and 16.2% coughing without having a cold. Half of the 12 young people evaluated had over 100 ng/mL of urinary cotinine. The study indicates that child laborers do various activities and present a high prevalence of health problems. Health workers should be trained to identify child laborers and their impacts on health. Full-time farm schools could provide knowledge about sustainable agricultural production, reducing the rates of age-grade mismatch, without taking young people away from rural areas.

An eight-year analysis of child labor trafficking cases in the United States: Exploring characteristics, and patterns of child labor trafficking.

BACKGROUND: Child labor trafficking in the U.S. has proven to be difficult to research and very little is known about the scope, severity, or common characteristics of child labor trafficking situations. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore if child labor trafficking exists in the U.S. through investigating the labor trafficking cases filed from 2011 to 2018. Once identified, the contributing vulnerability factors and case outcomes were analyzed to build new knowledge about child labor trafficking in the U.S. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: This study explores 34 cross-section child labor trafficking criminal cases in the U.S. resulting in 52 child labor trafficking victims being identified. METHODS: Cross sectional child labor trafficking case data collected through online searches were analyzed and described. RESULTS: The majority of the cases (73.5%, n = 25) were child labor trafficking only while 26.5% (n = 9) were both sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Fifty-eight percent of the victims were children from countries outside of the U.S. Victims in more than half of the cases (n = 18) identified their relationship with their traffickers as "friendly strangers/acquaintances". Techniques for recruitment and retention used by the child labor traffickers included psychological, physical, and sexual violence along with offering shelter to the victims. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations include the need to increase research and awareness about child labor trafficking in the United States, to develop and implement civil child protection, and to improve child victim benefits and compensation in the United States.

Measuring Financial Burden in Families of Children Living With Life-Limiting Conditions: A Scoping Review of Cost Indicators and Outcome Measures.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of cost indicators and outcome measures used to measure financial burden in families of children with life-limiting conditions. METHODS: A scoping review methodology was used to map the existing literature and provide an overview of available cost indicators and outcome measures. Key medical, economic, and scientific databases were systematically searched to identify relevant articles published in 2000 or later. RESULTS: The database search yielded 7194 records, including 30 articles eligible for final inclusion. Retrieved cost indicators and outcome measures fell into 3 broad categories: direct costs, indirect costs, and financial support. No study comprehensively assessed all 3 categories. Cost indicators used to measure direct costs were grouped into 5 medical and 11 nonmedical out-of-pocket expenses categories, of which 5 were commonly assessed (ie, treatment and diagnostics, travel and transport, accommodation, food, childcare and home help). Half of the reviewed studies included assessments of indirect costs, most commonly estimating work-related income loss by evaluating employment disruptions. Assessments of opportunity costs arising from informal caregiving and of financial support were rarely included. CONCLUSIONS: Current estimates of the financial burden faced by families of children with life-limiting conditions are inconsistent and often incomplete, likely resulting in severe underestimations of the costs these families incur. We hope that the framework presented in this article will contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of illness-related financial burden and help guide future policies in this area.

The Role of Stomach Infrastructures on Children's Work and Child Labour in Africa: Systematic Review.

Child labour remains a prevalent global concern, and progress toward eradicating harmful children's work appears to have stalled in the African continent and henceforth, integrated social policy intervention is still required to address the problem. Among several forms of social policy interventions, stomach infrastructure (i.e., in-kind and/or cash transfers) have been a key policy approach to support vulnerable families to lighten households' resources burden, which forces them to consider child labour as a coping strategy. There is growing evidence on the impacts of these programs in child labour. However, this evidence is often mixed regarding children's work outcomes, and the existing studies hardly describe such heterogeneous outcomes from the child-sensitive approach. To this end, a systematic literature search was conducted for studies in African countries. From 743 references retrieved in this study, 27 studies were included for the review, and a narrative approach has been employed to analyse extracted evidence. Results from the current study also demonstrate a mixed effect of in-kind and cash transfers for poor households on child labour decisions. Hence, the finding from the current review also demonstrates a reduced participation of children in paid and unpaid work outside the household due to in-kind and cash transfers to poor households, but children's time spent in economic and non-economic household labour and farm and non-farm labour, which are detrimental to child health and schooling, has been reported increasing due to the program interventions. The question remains how these programs can effectively consider child-specific and household-related key characteristics. To this end, a child-sensitive social protection perspective has been applied in this study to explain these mixed outcomes to inform policy design.

Prevalence and predictors of child labour among junior public secondary school students in Enugu, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Globally, millions of children are involved in child labour. However, low- and middle-income countries are mostly hit. This study examined the predictors of child labour among public secondary school students in the Enugu metropolis. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 332 junior secondary students attending public schools in Enugu metropolis, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the six secondary schools and the students that participated in the study. Data collection was done from September to October 2018. Pretested structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire contained information on the sociodemographic variables, the kind of work done by the respondents and the number of working hours spent weekly. UNICEF's standard indicator for child labour was used to estimate the prevalence of child labour. Logistic regression was used to identify socioeconomic predictors of child labour. RESULTS: The prevalence of overall child labour was 71.7%, while for domestic and economic child labour prevalence were 52.1 and 34.0%, respectively. About 35.2% of the respondents worked under hazardous conditions while 8% were forced to work. Two-thirds (236, 65%) of the respondents who have heard about child labour perceived it as wrong. The child labourers mainly worked to render financial assistance to their parents. The predictors of child labour were class of study (AOR = 2.208 (95% CI: 1.199-4.066) and weekly income earned (AOR = 0.316 (95% CI: 0.176-0.567). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of child labour among junior students in public secondary schools in Enugu is high, and is predicted by the level of schooling and income earned. Economic and social reforms could contribute to addressing the predictors of child labour.