The Rupture of Childhood Experience among Children Working in the Streets: A Case Study in Rasht

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Social Sciences, Law and Social Sciences, Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran

2 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Payam Noor University, Manjil, Iran

10.22059/ijsp.2026.365535.671171

Abstract

Children who live and work on the streets or engage in economic activities from an early age face a variety of complex, challenging, and harmful experiences. This study employs a qualitative methodology with a grounded theory approach. The participants comprised 15 purposively selected street-working children in the city of Rasht. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding procedures. The findings reveal that street-working children in Rasht experience an affective duality characterized by a relative satisfaction with economic participation alongside feelings of humiliation, social exclusion, and marginalization. This duality gives rise to a "dual identity," marked by a persistent tension between the roles of childhood and adulthood. Furthermore, financial deprivation and insufficient opportunities for rest, recreation, and social interaction have reduced their lives to a monotonous cycle between home and street. This cycle, coupled with the elimination of recreational and familial interactions, has led to a profound stagnation in their lifeworld. Ultimately, "persistent subjugation" emerges as a recurring condition of deprivation and disempowerment that imposes entrenched constraints on their lives. These interconnected conditions are conceptualized through the central category of "stolen childhood," which reflects the gradual deprivation of fundamental childhood experiences within the street context.

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Journal of Social Problems of Iran
Volume 16, Issue 2
May 2026
Pages 165-188

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