Psychosocial Profile of Children of Unwed Mothers - An Indian Perspective

Unwed mother hood results in different psychosocial problems in children. Practice of devadasi system- were young girls are consecrating to God towards perform the role of community entertainers, offering sexual services to their patrons leads to unwed mother hood in various rural villages in south India. These unwed mothers are deserted to bring up their children in absolute poverty, experience the stigma of being the child of unwed mother (Devadasi) and illegitimacy that results in various psychosocial problems among these children. Aim: Psychosocial profile children of unwed (devadasi) mothers, single parent and children with both parents. Methodology: A descriptive cum comparative study was conducted among 180 children (60 children each of devadasis, single parent and both parents category) of 10 to 16yrs, in 36 villages of Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India through simple random sampling. Results and discussion: A checklist on 15 psychosocial domains was developed, standardized and administered among the samples. The results revealed psychosocial problems among children in the areas of basic needs; family support; social support; personal safety, conflicts in family and child marriage. Conclusion: The psychosocial issues identified above were prevalent among the children in the population studied though there is no significant difference between children of unwed mothers( devadasis), single parent and both parents.