case study of special child in hindi

• Write with us
• Advertise with us
• Liability Disclaimer

Primary Ka Master ● Com - प्राइमरी का मास्टर ● कॉम

एक छतरी के नीचे 'प्राइमरी का मास्टर' की समस्त ऑनलाइन सेवाएँ

केस स्टडी विधि के उद्देश्य, विशेषताएं और इस विधि की उपयोगितायेँ

•  विद्यार्थी स्वतंत्र होकर, स्वयं ही सृजनात्मक ढंग से समस्या पर विचार कर सकेंगें।
•  वे समस्या समाधान ( Problem based learning )तक पहुंचने में सक्रिय हो  सकेंगें।
•  वे अपने पूर्व ज्ञान का प्रयोग करते हुए प्रमाणों को संग्रह कर सकेंगें।
•  घटनाक्रम में नवीन तथ्यों को जान सकेंगे।
•  स्वयं अपने अनुभव से सीखते हुए ज्ञान प्राप्त कर सकेंगें।
•  व्यक्तिगत, सामाजिक संबंधों को उत्तम ढंग से स्थापित कर सकेंगे।
•  छात्रों में अभिप्रेरण एवं अभिव्यक्ति की क्षमता में वृद्धि हो सकेगी।
•  छात्रों की उपलब्धियों का मूल्यांकन हो सकेगा।

व्यक्तिगत अध्ययन छात्रों को एक सार्थक ज्ञान प्रदान करता है जिसका प्रयोग विभिन्न प्रकार के समाधान या अध्ययन के लिए किया जाता है। यह एक जटिल अधिगम का स्वरूप होता है। इसमें  सृजनात्मक चिन्तन निहित होता है और चिन्तन स्तर पर शिक्षण की व्यवस्था होती है।

Post a Comment

Case of study child ka farmet kaise taiyar krein

• Skip to navigation
• Skip to main content

Children With Special Needs

For Students:

The audiobooks for visually impaired and ISL Dictionary for hearing impaired have been put up on DIKSHA platform. In addition, the National Institute of Open Schooling is committed to make its website accessible to people with disabilities. In its effort to make the website accessible, NIOS has incorporated different features which will make it easier for users to browse the website.

Some of the accessibility features incorporated in the website includes adjusting the display settings, ease of navigation, content readability and so on. Following are the accessibility features incorporated in this website:

• Alternate description for Images & Audio/Video
• Display settings
• Ease of navigation
• Content readability & structure
• Keyboard support

Visually Impaired Learners

• Study material has been developed in Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY), a technical standard for digital audiobooks, periodicals and computerized text.
• Learners can access all study material of NIOS through DAISY
• An Indian Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary has been developed to facilitate communication and education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing learners.
• NIOS has also developed more than 270 Video in Sign Language in 7 subjects to provide educational access to learners at secondary level and Yoga course.

• Accessibility in School Curriculum-NCERT’s Initiatives can be found here https://ciet.nic.in/pages.php?id=accesstoedu&ln=en&ln=en

Hearing Impaired Learners

• Course content (Selected ones) of NIOS has also been recorded in sign language which is placed on NIOS website as well as on YouTube.
• These videos are available at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXBn5q8Zv4Bz-LZXWWD7Jxw/playlists
• The recorded content is sent to HI learners on DVD

Innovative Material developed by NCERT

Various steps are being taken to bring children with special needs (CwSN) to schools such as the National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) has developed exemplar material for providing low cost quality home education to students with severe disabilities through e-learning. NCERT text books have been converted into digital books which can be downloaded free by any one, any time. Most of the books are in UNICODE which a child with special needs can read using a Text-to-Speech (TTS)/Software/mobile app though e-Pathshaala mobile app. For visually challenged learners e-book in DAISY format and tactile maps have been developed.

Promoting Inclusive Education in the Foundational Years - Barkha: A Reading Series for ‘All’

The department has developed Barkha: A Reading Series for ‘All’ as an exemplary, inclusive learning material in the form of a supplementary early reading series. This reading series is available in print and digital formats. Its design is based on the principles of inclusion and the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Barkha: A Reading Series for ‘All’ is exemplary in demonstrating how the principles of UDL can guide the design of inclusive features like tactile and high resolution visuals, text in accessible scripts etc. This exemplar provides a direction and initial guidelines for developing similarly accessible material in the form of textbooks and other learning resources for all school stages.

In tandem with the Digital India Campaign, the department has also developed a digital version of Barkha: A Reading Series for ‘All’. This digital version retains all the inclusive features of the print version and is unique in its functionality because it allows for greater flexibility and has greater scope of appealing to all. Children can access all 40 story booklets through a single device. This also gives them space to revisit any book whenever and wherever they like. The privacy that is afforded by being able to read on one’s own computer or tablet allows one to read comfortably and at one’s own pace therefore promoting reading in a non-threatening environment with meaning and pleasure. An introduction to each story is available in audio-video format both in sign and regular language forms. It helps to introduce sign language as a regular form of communication at an early age to all children in an inclusive setting. The digital version of this reading series is available on NCERT website and the epathshala portal.

Sample Content:

https://nroer.gov.in/home/e-library

https://repository.seshagun.nic.in/video/support-to-children-with-special-needs-cwsn-through-special-resource-centre

This site is designed, developed, hosted and maintained by National Informatics Centre (NIC), Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, GoI. Contents provided by Ministry of Human Resource Development, GoI.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Sage Choice

The discovery of autism: Indian parents’ experiences of caring for their child with an autism spectrum disorder

The current study investigated the lived experience of 12 parents of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in everyday cultural contexts in Goa, India. Narratives from parents collected between 2009 and 2010 were analyzed using the procedures of phenomenological psychology. Four temporal phases of parents’ experience emerged from these data. Findings showed that the earliest phase of the child’s life was a period of relative normalcy and social cohesion. In the second phase, the child’s behaviors began to disrupt the everyday social order, but parents viewed these unexpected behaviors as temporary. In the third phase, parents’ observations in public situations, along with assessments of others, led to a qualitative shift in which parents began to perceive that there was a persisting problem interfering with their child’s social and practical activities. In the fourth phase, parents grappled with developing their child’s capacities to meet existing practical opportunities in the local society, while attempting to reshape the social world to accommodate the abilities and limits of children like their own. Parents’ fundamental concerns throughout their journey were: learning to meet new and unfamiliar challenges as parents, caring for their child’s basic needs, and finding an engaging niche with a sense of belonging for their child in the everyday milieu. Both culture-specific and potentially universal levels of experience are delineated in the overall findings. Implications for culturally sensitive research and practice in India and other low- and middle-income countries are discussed.

Since Kanner (1943) first identified a group of children with “autistic disturbances of affective contact” in the United States (1943, p. 217), classic autism and the broader group autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been formally adopted by various professional diagnostic systems (e.g., Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000 ]; International Classification of Diseases [ICD-10; World Health Organization, 1992]). These diagnostic constructs have since “traveled around the globe,” as evidenced by the existence of national organizations for autism in over 80 countries ( Daley, 2002 , p. 532). With respect to India in particular, knowledge of Western psychiatry and psychology first arrived with British colonialism ( Daley, 2004 ). A “child showing schizophrenic behavior” was first mentioned in 1959 ( Batliwalla, 1959 , p. 251), and autism-specific research has substantially increased since then ( Daley, 2004 ). Sustained professional focus on autism began in the late 1980s and 1990s ( Krishnamurthy, 2008 ), and autism is now widely recognized in medical, political, and legal circles in India ( Daley, 2004 ; Daley & Sigman, 2002 ). The current study contributes to the extant literature by providing an in-depth, qualitative investigation of parenting a child with ASD in the Indian state of Goa.

Kleinman (1977) suggested that “ideal” cross-cultural studies begin with “local phenomenological descriptions” (1977, p. 4). Instead of presupposing the nature of psychopathology from a culturally distant perspective, local descriptions are required to provide an understanding of it in cultural contexts. Knowledge of local perspectives has helped strengthen community-based care and improve outcomes for individuals experiencing significant psychological distress (e.g., Chatterjee et al., 2008 ). In the case of autism, evidence from countries such as the USA ( Altiere & von Kluge, 2009 ), Israel ( Shaked, 2005 ), the UK ( Avdi, Griffin, & Brough, 2000b ), and Australia ( Gray, 1993 , 1995 , 2001 ), for instance, has shown that parent perspectives often differ from traditional scientific/professional ones and frequently invoke spiritual, moral, or personal interpretations. Because parents have been shown to find meaning by using nonmedical or nonprofessional interpretive frameworks and regularly turn to alternative treatments for ASD, an investigation of what matters to parents on an everyday level in other cultures is also necessary. In line with this general trend of exploring indigenous viewpoints, professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice (2006) have recently stated that an understanding of patients’ culture, preferences, values, and worldview is an integral part of evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP).

In India, little research has sought to examine parents’ indigenous viewpoints of their children diagnosed with ASD. The available literature has suggested that children with ASD often do present families with considerable challenges requiring external support ( Daley, 2004 ; Gupta & Singhal, 2005 ; Kishore & Basu, 2011 ; Krishnamurthy, 2008 ; Malhotra, Chakrabarti, Gupta, & Gill, 2004 ). Daley’s (2004) research in particular offered several insights into Indian parents’ perspectives on ASD. For instance, Daley found that Indian parents’ initial symptom recognition in children who were eventually diagnosed with ASD was at a range of 6 to 10 months later than families in the West. Potential reasons given for the extra time in India prior to help-seeking included local cultural beliefs like “boys speak late,” which perhaps normalized early unusual behaviors. Overall, the initial symptoms most reported were social difficulties, suggesting that a child’s ability to relate to others is of high import to parents in India. More recent research in India on parental perceptions of intellectual disabilities has also noted diverse frames of reference featuring sociocultural, spiritual, and biomedical components ( Edwardraj, Mumtaj, Prasad, Kuruvilla, & Jacob, 2010 ).

The extant literature provides some knowledge of the influence of Indian cultural beliefs and social norms on the local responses to ASD. However, more information is needed on parents’ indigenous viewpoints, prior to theoretical conceptualizations like symptoms and diagnosis. Parents may not initially be using these latter constructs to understand and describe their child, so it is important to examine the full meaning of their original perspectives and how these may change over time. In addition, research conducted in a different Indian location than previous research, with both urban and rural populations, may allow for knowledge of how parenting concerns and practices may be common or different across various settings (see Grinker, 2007 ). The phenomenological approach was utilized in order to freshly access and concretely describe the parents’ lived experiences of their child with sensitivity to local context and meaning. The research was embedded in a larger project on ASD in India (Autism Research and Training Initiative: ARTI) based at a community-based, nongovernmental organization (NGO) and child development center located in Goa, India.

The study was conducted in the Indian state of Goa. Goa differs from other parts of India given its Portuguese colonial heritage and relatively high educational and economic development. The state has a population of 1.4 million and is characterized by geographical, cultural, and religious diversity. The most commonly spoken language is Konkani, but Marathi, English, and Hindi are also used. The overall Autism Research and Training Initiative (ARTI) project investigated several domain areas related to ASD in India, including help-seeking patterns and family impact. The current study focused on parents’ experiences of and with their child from birth to the present time. Formal Institutional Review Board approval was granted by Sangath Centre and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine prior to the study.

Participants

Parents were recruited via key informants at special schools, child development centers, and health clinics. Primary inclusion criteria were parents with a child who was already identified as meeting criteria for ASD. Diagnoses had been given by pediatricians, local clinical psychologists, and special educators using standard DSM-based criteria.

The sample for the present study consisted of 12 parents of 10 children: one father and seven mothers were interviewed alone (i.e., eight parents of children with ASD); and two sets of parents, mother and father, were interviewed together (i.e., four parents of children with ASD). The sample size was consistent with standards for phenomenological research ( Giorgi, 2009 ; Starks & Trinidad, 2007 ). The participants were deliberately selected to reflect key differences in the local population, such as religious and geographical background. Table 1 displays information on these demographic characteristics and others including family type (nuclear/joint). Joint families are those with more than one “immediate” family living in one household and often include additional extended family members.

Participant demographics

Data collection

The data for the study were comprised of in-depth interviews ( Davidson, 2003 ; Giorgi, 2009 ; Kvale, 2008 ) conducted by members of ARTI between June 2009 and August 2010. Interview staff consisted of one doctoral-, two master’s-, and three bachelor-level personnel, conducting interviews in teams of two (one interviewer, one note-taker). All interviewers were trained and supervised by doctoral-level senior researchers with extensive experience in qualitative research. Interviews were completed in various settings, such as participants’ homes, child clinics, and special schools. The team made every effort to accommodate participants’ location preferences. For example, some parents preferred the school setting and time because they could participate in the research while waiting for their child, whereas others preferred the more familiar home environment. Interviews in formal settings such as schools were conducted in private rooms to minimize distractions and increase comfort. All participants gave consent for interviews and a separate consent for audio recording. Participants were assured that their participation was voluntary and confidential.

Each interview was conducted in the language of the participants’ preference (Konkani, Marathi, English, or Hindi) and lasted 1–3 hours, with later follow-up questions as needed. The present study utilized a semistructured interview guide, which elicited in-depth narratives from parents of life with the child from birth to the present (see Appendix). Interviewers remained flexible and open to topics introduced by participants, who guided the researcher through their particular narratives of parenting a child identified as ASD. Key events explored were: birth and early experiences with the child; parents’ first notice of behavioral differences; and interactions with family members, healthcare providers, educators, and community members in relation to their child. Throughout the process, completed interviews were examined by senior researchers to monitor the data quality and to provide feedback to the interviewers.

Data analysis

The tape-recorded interviews were transcribed into electronic format. Konkani, Marathi, or Hindi interviews were translated directly into English by research members fluent in both languages. Redundancy that offered no added meaning was removed. Additional words were added by researchers only to assure readability. The participants’ expressions were then ordered according to the original temporal sequence of the life situations they described. The analysis of the data was informed by the methods of phenomenological psychology, which were used to elucidate the essential meanings of the parents’ lived experiences of their child ( Davidson, 2003 ; Giorgi, 2009 ; Wertz, 1983 , 2005 , 2010 ). In addition, empirical trends in the data, such as the relative frequency of important parental experiences and the chronological ages of children, were noted and summarized when possible. The presentation in this report includes both phenomenological findings, (i.e., the essential structure and constituent meanings of parents’ experiences) and the empirical findings (accounts of related factual trends evident in the data). Analytic rigor was ensured via internal reviews by expert members of the research team. In the resulting presentation, participants have been de-identified. Narratives have been identified by the notation of M(other) and/or F(ather) with accompanying participant number (see Table 1 ).

The following sections describe parents’ lived experiences with their child, with reference to context, meaning, and life historical unfolding. The findings indicate a series of temporal structures. Four main temporal phases emerged from the data and are described in what follows. It was not possible to list the exact chronological duration of each because there were no definite boundaries between them. The age of the child when each phase began also varied considerably between parents, and some parents had not entered the latter phases.

In each of the four phases, the following three constituents were essential to parents in caring for their child: (a) Engaging in an open-ended process of parenting by learning to meet new and unfamiliar challenges; (b) Ensuring that the child’s basic needs are met; and (c) Finding an engaging niche with a sense of belonging for their child in the everyday milieu including social relationships, education/work, maintaining family values, etc. These aspects of parenting were present in the earliest period and continued to develop in later ones as described in what follows.

Beginning the parenting journey: Reciprocal routines, budding care networks, and an open future

In the earliest period after the child’s birth, parents happily welcomed the newborn and embarked upon the journey of care by attempting to develop harmonious, synergistic routines. Most parents identified this early period as joyful and honored the child with pride.

When he was born there was a huge celebration and a lot of excitement (M10). My daughter was so very cute and very good looking and on seeing her I forgot everything. All the negativity in me, it went away on seeing her (M1). It was like picture postcard. He won about three “Healthy Baby Contests” (M6).

The immediacy and novelty of their new life with their son or daughter was predominately positive:

Her first birthday actually I took time off (M1). We celebrated in a very big way (F1). We called relatives and it was a big party and … We took photographs (M1).

The child’s behaviors were expected, ordinary, and normal. Although parenting was an inexact science, parents gained sufficient know-how to respond to their child. Caring practices were informed by prior experiences of parenting, advice from extended family, and basic learning-by-doing, trial-and-error approaches. Parents did not extensively contemplate the long-term future; however, the baby’s future was given with open possibilities.

“Autism” and troublesome behaviors beyond the scope of routine parenting had yet to appear. If significant medical problems of the child appeared, courses of action were clear, such as taking the child to a doctor for excessive vomiting. In essence, their child’s medical issues were problem-solving situations in a world that was familiar to them. The anticipation was that solutions provided by doctors would enable the family to return to normal routines. Although ASD had yet to emerge, the caregiving skills and social networks that parents were now developing would later become essential resources when disruptive and unexplainable behaviors began to appear. For instance, the child’s early medical problems led parents to form relationships with physicians and extended family as allies in childcare. The nature and quality of these early social networks shaped the course that parents’ care efforts eventually took with regard to the child’s later behavioral problems. Two parents (M5, M10) recounted their child’s numerous early medical problems, which required extensive travel for specialized healthcare. One parent described her village as “a place where you don’t even have access to good doctors.” She was greatly dissatisfied with the lack of available local support and thus grew accustomed to traveling afar for better care. Both M5 and M10 experienced professionals as generally insensitive to the family’s situation, leaving an early negative impression that would later color expectations of various service providers when, with the appearance of ASD, the quality of relationships with service providers became a crucial issue.

Interruptions from the path: Child’s unexpected, incongruent, but seemingly temporary behaviors

Various unexpected behaviors of the child caught parents’ attention due to their disruption of the social cohesion of everyday life. These behaviors were incongruent with those of older siblings or same-aged children and parents’ own underlying views of expected childhood behavior. Other family members, however, normalized the incongruence by mentioning similar patterns in family history or cultural norms, for instance, concerning the typical age of speech onset (e.g., “your husband also used to also speak late”; “sometimes Jeep Zodh aasa [the tongue is thick]”). In this way, the discrepancies were ordinary and integrated into the prior experiential phase of parenting. Further examples of these behaviors of the child included: (a) Trouble falling asleep (M1); (b) Agitation in a restaurant during a family vacation with parents’ work colleagues (M6); (c) Crying continuously without stopping, and the parent not knowing why (M4); (d) Not sitting (F3, M10); (e) Flapping hands (M10); and (f) Crying so softly that it resembled a “cat’s meow” (M5).

The child’s unexpected, discrepant behaviors began affecting the everyday parent–child relationship, leading some parents to ponder their own caregiving efforts. However, some also noted adaptive aspects of the unexpected behaviors. For instance, one parent (M4) could not soothe her child’s crying, and two others (M1, F1) were surprised that their child did not seem very attached to them. In the first case, the parent could not understand why her soothing efforts weren’t working; however, in the second case, the parent felt that her daughter’s detached manner was actually a “blessing in disguise” because the child didn’t seem to miss her when the mother had to leave the house.

But one thing it was a bit strange that she didn’t seem to miss me very much sometimes. (M1) Not that she used to dislike her or anything like that. (F1) But that I took as a blessing in disguise. I thought that it’s good that she is not missing me. She was quite happy with her nanny and my mother-in-law. (M1)

In the parents’ understanding, these discrepant behaviors were not indicative of a larger or ongoing issue but instead were temporary. Although some parents began to doubt, their friends and family comforted them with reassurances that the child’s atypical behavior was just part of the ordinary process of child growth. Parents described that:

Nobody thought that there was anything amiss. (M6) At 8 months I was comparing him to other children, and I felt they used to do a lot more, but it still didn’t … cross my mind that there is problem. (M10)

Even as parents’ perspectives on their child became increasingly divergent from reassuring others, they continued to believe that the disruptions would eventually pass. The parents continued to anticipate a process of change that would lead to their child occupying a familiar place in adult society. The more distant future remained open and potentially limitless.

When the term “autism” was introduced early in this phase, its meaning for parents remained relatively empty and without significant implications. Parents may have heard the word but did not apply it to their child due to a lack of familiarity or because their child seemed to function well in most areas of life.

That first time when we were told autism, we had taken it carelessly. We had never heard about it. (F2) And he was okay in other things (M2). His only problem was that he was not communicating. He was not communicating but other things he was doing. He used to understand us if we told him anything. (F2)

“Autism” was relatively unknown. Perhaps it applied to others, but it was inconsequential with regard to their own child, because challenging behaviors were isolated, transient, and did not hold meaning concerning the child as a whole with implications for the future.

Roadblocks along the way: Child’s continued growth in question, and parents’ search for solutions

When behaviors began to be seen as different from other children and as socially problematic beyond the immediate family, parents sensed that they were persisting and potentially dangerous for the child. One parent stated:

He used to throw this and that, he used to remove and throw a burning stick from the chula [open flame cooking stove], he would touch the hot iron, he would dip his hand in boiling tea, he used to throw the milk out. Sometimes we would starve and [lose] sleep for this reason. (M7)

The most alarming and transformative events that initiated the third phase involved unexpected and intrusive communication from other concerned persons. One parent (M10), for example, was verbally accosted by a doctor for “poor parenting” after the parent brought her son to the doctor for his flu-like symptoms. The doctor admonished the mother for not recognizing the implications of the child’s speaking, sitting, and walking difficulties, after which she began elaborating their significance for the future.

The way he disclosed it to me, it came as a total shock to me because he said, “Oh my God, he will be a vegetable for the rest of his life. What kind of mother are you, you don’t know how to take care of a child?” … I just did not know what to do. I was just totally in a state of shock. (M10)

Although parents became concerned about the child’s fate and eventual place in adult society, the long-term future was still a distant, though increasingly uncertain, horizon. Parents were concerned with the possibility that their son’s or daughter’s ways of being may preclude their capacity for self-care, social relationships, and education. Consequently, the behaviors identified by teachers and administrators at schools engendered the most concern among parents. Parents had viewed education as the gateway towards a brighter future in which their children would gradually overcome relative dependence on them. However, these growing questions threw that expectation into uncertainty. Though the parents were increasingly concerned, hopes still remained that the child’s problems would subside. One father, a cattle herdsman, recounted taking pleasure in positive gains after earlier concerns about his son’s performance in school:

Now if I go to give fodder to the cow, he goes first and gives them. He comes and mixes all fodder and gives them. He knows everything. Now he says that he wants two cows, one red and one black. So it feels good. (F3)

Before this phase, the children were seen as proceeding along a typical pace. However, when the child began entering the outside world, perspectives of normality/abnormality from medicine or media came to the fore. In other words, this phase was when “autism” began to take on determinate meaning for parents in reference to their own child. Comparisons with other children and experts’ views introduced the meaning of a persisting problem with implications for important areas of life (education, relationships), but their total implications for the future were not yet elaborated in concrete ways. Allopathic and alternative healers were consulted, including an Ayurvedic doctor who determined that a “nerve is getting choked up somewhere” (M4) and a baba (religious man) who concluded there was “a shraap [curse] and [a] need to perform a Ganesh aarti [religious service]” (M9).

Some parents continued to hold on to dreams such as the arrival of a medical advancement or cure, the hope of a desirable job in government for the child, or the wish of the child becoming an “Einstein” or “Beethoven.” These connotations of scientific/musical genius did not necessarily match parents’ own observations of the child but were consistent with other meanings of the diagnosis learned from media and professionals. A concurrent manuscript (Divan, Vajaratkar, Desai, Strik-Lievers, & Patel, in press) discusses parents’ interactions with professionals in more detail.

Here, but not yet there: Addressing the present while looking towards the future

In this phase, the parents’ aim was to accept their child’s limited capacities, to expand them as much as is possible in relation to the given social realities, and to attempt to change those social realities so that they would become more welcoming for their child. It should be noted that not every parent in our study had fully reached this phase, such as the rural father who still assumed his child would be given a government job. The children in this phase were usually nearing their teenage years. The meaning of age here reflects normative parental beliefs about what the child should be doing at their current age with regard to learning, communicating, socializing, and so forth. As one parent discussed, when it became certain through persistent observations that her child was not performing in the classroom like his peers, it finally “dawned” on her that the child was not going to become a “typical” adult. Previous doubts concerning the child’s abilities have here become certainties. In this phase, parents began to give up the expectation that their child would reach the hoped for self-care, social, or vocational capacities of other adults.

Parents accepted and owned their child’s limitations as a consequence of seeing that their child remained different from other children in situations essential for becoming a fully functioning adult in the local setting. In this way, the label “autism” was filled in with meanings with implications for the child’s whole life—past and future. Parents were learning more about professional or scientific knowledge related to autism, and their own understandings of their child often changed as a result. For example, parents started to retrospectively reinterpret earlier perceptions as indicative of symptoms of ASD, and some reported their own indigenous care efforts to be consistent with professional therapy for autism.

Whenever we were in the restaurant, he used to get agitated. That was probably the first sign of socialization problem. (M6) She was content to be with herself. That’s probably one of the red flags but at that time you do not realize; you do not know anything about autism. (M1) In my intuition I taught her everything I could. And I was kind of doing ABA [applied behavior analysis] with her (M1). I did not know the term but I was doing ABA with her. She was looking outside the window and I was holding her head and literally turning her head; I was forcing her to make eye contact. (F1)

Even when the concept of autism was accepted as applicable to their child, most parents also attributed their child’s unusual differences to multiple, alternative, and often conflicting external causes, but remained unsure as to any final solution. Some general trends of explanation included: (a) genetics or chemical exposure (M1, a PhD scientist); (b) potential links to other children in the family with developmental issues, e.g., a “spastic” relative (M6); (c) mother not taking required medications while pregnant, or taking too many medications (F3, M10); and (d) stressful experiences during or after pregnancy.

As the children aged, parents came to assume a previously unexpected role as the one ultimately responsible for their son’s or daughter’s everyday needs. But what about the future? All parents in this fourth temporal phase deeply worried about what would happen to their child when the parents “are no longer,” that is, when the parents could no longer care for their children. One parent advocated for a social scale security system in India, whereas another worried:

Later on … who’ll take care [of him]? … He is independent but not independent enough to go out and all. (M5)

A major concern for parents became discovering their son’s and daughter’s place in the world and finding ways to help them occupy it. Some parents attempted to organize activities and find creative outlets where their child would belong and have an enjoyable present and future. One mother noted:

I don’t have expectations but I just want him to live a happy life. Enjoy every moment that we enjoy with him. Every moment of his has to be enjoyable and I don’t want any pressure on my son. (M5)

Parents also sought to maintain values and traditions like religion, spirituality, and art.

First he used to not mix with other children, but now he likes to play with them … He acted as Krishna [Hindu god] for his school program. That time he wore Krishna’s costume like mukut [crown], murli [flute]. (M7)

Given the difficulties of finding or establishing an alternative social milieu, patience became a virtue for many parents as they waited for their children to learn basic life skills, albeit in their own way: “I think we have to keep our patience. You can rush things with other kids but not with her. She will learn in due course” (M1). Another parent poignantly described: “He should be able to lead his own life; [he] should be able to write his own name, we don’t want him to be great but at least that much he should do” (M4).

Although “autism” took on a certain reality with implications for both the past and future, it is not necessarily a fully determinate fate or destiny, for open questions remain about what the child ultimately can become, what the parent can do, and how social realities can be changed to be more welcoming and accommodating to their sons and daughters.

This study conducted in Goa, India, has limits of generalizability because all participants had at least some contact with the health or educational system. The findings indicated that parents’ experiences of caring for their child with ASD involved three main constituents, which emerged through four temporal phases: learning to meet new and unfamiliar challenges as parents; caring for their child’s basic needs; and finding an engaging niche with a sense of belonging for their child in the everyday milieu. The four temporal phases were: Phase 1, a period of celebration and social cohesion; Phase 2, though parents began to perceive their child’s behaviors as incongruent with expected behaviors, the discrepancies were understood as temporary and viewed by family members as within the bounds of ordinary childhood behavior; Phase 3, parents’ observations in public situations, along with assessments by others, led to a qualitative shift in which parents began to perceive a persisting problem interfering with practical and social activities; and Phase 4, parents recognized that these persisting behavioral problems rendered the child’s future place in the social world uncertain. Parents grappled with developing their child’s capacities to meet existing practical opportunities in the local society, while attempting to reshape the social world to accommodate the abilities and limits of children like their own. With regard to diagnostic conceptualizations, neither “autism,” nor any conception of a “developmental disorder” was present in Phase 1, and in Phase 2, parents disregarded the autism diagnosis as they focused on what they perceived to be temporary deficits in functioning (e.g., poor communication). “Autism” took on meaning for parents beginning in Phase 3, as indicating persisting problems in social and educational settings, but future implications were not fully experienced until Phase 4.

The present study is consistent with other literature on ASD and developmental disabilities in India and elsewhere and extends its findings to Goa. Research has noted that family members explain early deficits in functioning as actually typical for children. For instance, the suggestion that “boys just speak late” is a consistent finding in the literature on India ( Daley, 2004 ; Krishnamurthy, 2008 ). Daley (2004) also pointed out that most parents reported social difficulties first; evidence from our study similarly indicates that difficulties in social settings, such as school, initiated the entry into Phase 3 where parents perceived that there was a persisting problem. Recently, researchers have also found that children’s basic self-care needs and capacity to live in society were central to parenting children with disabilities in South Asia ( Edwardraj et al., 2010 ; Maloni et al., 2010 ).

There is a striking convergence between our findings and a recent study from the USA ( Altiere & von Kluge, 2009 ), which appeared while the present study was being conducted and was reviewed after our findings were written. Both studies report similar evidence concerning a relatively cohesive early parenting phase; a later period of questioning and searching for solutions; and “hindsight” reinterpretations. The studies, however, differ in their descriptions of the meaning of “autism” for parents. In the present study, autism was not received by parents as a fixed entity and clear biomedical diagnosis. Instead, the idea and term were ambiguously perceived. Parents had initially never heard of the term autism, and subsequently disregarded it despite noticing some disruptive behaviors. At a later phase, parents understood autism as indicating an open-ended future. Both studies described this open-ended future, which, as Altiere and von Kluge pointed out, was characterized in part by patience, joy, social advocacy, and fighting for acceptance.

Research from the West has also noted a central paradox that parents of children with autism and other disabilities encounter, specifically of accepting their children as they are while also hoping for change by pursuing solutions to their difficulties ( Avdi, Griffin, & Brough, 2000a ; Landsman, 2003 ; Larson, 1998 ). Larson described the “embrace of paradox” in the face of an indeterminate future as follows:

the management of the internal tension of opposing forces between loving the child as he or she was and wanting to erase the disability, between dealing with the incurability while pursuing solutions, and between maintaining hopefulness for the child’s future while being given negative information and battling their own fears. (1998, p. 873)

This paradox was found to be central for Goan parents in Phase 4. Further, the present study extends the notion of paradox to include parents’ acceptance/change not only of the child but also of the social world . On the one hand, if parents do not accept the social reality and the requirements for participation in it, they cannot help their child adapt to it. On the other hand, parents cannot simply accept the social reality, because it is not entirely suitable or welcoming to their child—so they also endeavor to change the social world. In other words, there was a double paradox of acceptance/change of both the child and the surrounding environment. Parents embraced this paradoxical attitude towards the social world by accepting but changing the social reality. For instance, a group of mothers who helped their children adapt to the current social and practical realities in the local setting also worked with community members and professional mentors to advocate for more vocational opportunities, residential facilities, and a large-scale social security system. Grinker (2007) described similar instances of parents creating social change in India, such as the life story of Merry Barua, a mother of a child with ASD and subsequent founder of a national autism action network, advocating for relevant services and government recognition. These instances of parent empowerment in India resonate around the world with autism and disability advocates, such as those discussed by Grinker (2007) , Shaked (2005) , and others ( Daley, 2004 ; Gray, 2001 ; Luong, Yoder, & Canham, 2009 ; Skinner & Weisner, 2007 ; Woodgate, Ateah, & Secco, 2008 ). Autism advocacy is also exemplified by Temple Grandin ’s (2006) extensive discussion of “developing autistic talents” and focusing on strengths and opportunities over limitations alone.

Previous literature has called for more in-depth, cultural research on parents’ subjective processes ( Daley, 2002 , 2004; Kishore & Basu, 2011 ). Past research on ASD has demonstrated wide variations in the ways parents interpret their child’s early behavioral discrepancies, including consistent nonbiomedical interpretations, with an accompanying time lag between recognition of these discrepancies and professional help-seeking/diagnosis for many parents ( Daley, 2004 ; Kishore & Basu, 2011 ). The period when parents initially perceive disruptive, unexpected behaviors corresponds with Phase 2 found in our study. Parents here perceived temporary deficits in functioning, but these were not viewed as part of a larger problem or as requiring intensive or extensive professional help. Even when the child was given a diagnosis of autism in Phase 2, parents disregarded it as they focused on the particular discrepant behaviors. These behaviors were only later seen by parents as persisting problems and, in Phase 4, as possibly chronic or as early symptoms/indicators of autism upon retrospection to earlier times.

Although the Indian literature has started to broach this issue, it has not sufficiently distinguished early parental perceptions from their later interpretations or the interpretations of professionals. For instance, early parental perceptions have been described in the literature as “initial symptom recognition” ( Daley, 2004 , p. 1327) and “early indicators of autism” ( Kishore & Basu, 2011 , p. 157), which are parents’ retrospective reinterpretations of their child’s early behaviors in later phases. Parents originally did not perceive a behavioral problem of the magnitude of symptom/disorder. More accurately reflective of parents’ initial perceptions are such descriptive phrases as “some aspect of development … not proceeding as expected” ( Daley, 2004 , p. 1327) and “early concerns” and “atypicalities” ( Kishore & Basu, 2011 , p. 162). We propose that this is an important distinction because it may be difficult to fully engage parents without addressing their concerns in ways that are meaningful to them in their particular experiential phase.

Practice implications

The importance of direct parental involvement in the creation and provision of any services for special-needs children in India has been previously noted (e.g., Gupta & Singhal, 2005 ; Kalyanpur, 1996 ). Though professional perspectives differ from those of parents at various points, the present study indicates that professional practices can be related to the essential concerns of parents, and a common ground of understanding and shared purpose is possible.

With regard to the earliest phases, it is important for policymakers to work with communities to help build family relationships with local care systems, remaining respectful of their ways of life and points of view. In the present study, general care networks that supported parents prior to their noticing any serious behavioral discrepancies became relevant and useful when parents perceived a persisting problem. One mother who developed positive relationships with local care providers in the first two phases became empowered by them later when serious problems emerged. Another mother, however, not only lacked supportive service relationships in the first two phases, but had limited local availabilities for care altogether and needed to travel long distances for other options (see also Daley, 2004 , for discussion of geographic/socioeconomic issues in India). For families facing these situations, if caring relationships are developed earlier within the local care system, then parents may feel more empowered and receive immediate care when serious problems emerge.

Regarding Phase 2, though parents view discrepant behaviors as temporary and not a lasting problem for the child, there is an opportunity for communication between family and external helpers. Specifically, the child’s disruptive, unexpected behaviors can pose problems for parents, even if they do not see those problems as requiring extensive professional attention. Here, parents may be receptive to basic advice that addresses their child’s challenging behaviors, such as difficulty falling asleep or uncontrollable crying, which were beginning to exceed parents’ own management capacities in this study. One potentially relevant kind of community resource would be a local support network comprised of parents or caregivers of children with or without ASD as a source of relational support and a resource for “best parenting practices.” Several other researchers have noted the value of parent networking for childhood disabilities in South Asia ( Goldbart & Mukherjee, 2001 ; Gupta & Singhal, 2005 ; Maloni et al., 2010 ; Mirza, Tareen, Davidson, & Rahman, 2009 ; Pal & Chaudhury, 1998 ; Russell, John, & Lakshmanan, 1999 ).

Professionals might recommend early intervention to parents in Phase 2 or earlier, when they have not yet experienced a problem that requires it. This gap presents a dilemma, and further research is warranted. Parents’ major pathway to realizing their child’s long-term needs took place in social situations where they were able to compare their child to other children. A parent network could offer parents in Phase 2 a space to process how their child interacts with others, potentially occasioning an earlier perception of a persisting problem. Such a parent network could be particularly valuable for parents in India who are socially isolated, lack financial resources, and posses less knowledge of vocational requirements (see Maloni et al., 2010 ). For example, the cattle herder in this study did not appear to have means of accessing resources comparable to those of urban, highly educated parents when he needed them. As he succinctly put it: “Poor people like us find it difficult.” At the community level, families in Goa were aided by parent networks formed by a few key parent leaders with the help of professional mentors.

The present study provides evidence of a conflict of beliefs initiated by professional diagnosis in Phase 1 or 2. Professional views may clash with the interpretations of parents and extended family members. This possibility of conflicting viewpoints echoes previous research, which has demonstrated incongruity between parents’ perceptions of their child and scientific or biomedical interpretations offered by experts ( Avdi et al., 2000b ; Feinstein, 2008 ; Gray, 1995 , 2001 ; Landsman, 2003 ; Mandell & Novak, 2005 ; Shaked , 2005 ). In the present study, only after extended observations of their children in relation to other children in social situations did parents gain some realization of the concrete implications of their child’s difficulties (Phase 3). But these realizations took place after what we have called Phase 2, in which the parent viewed the unexpected, incongruent behaviors or deficits as temporary. Scholars have raised cautions about applying Western constructs of abnormality, disease, and treatment to novel populations or cultures ( Gone, 2004 ; Kalyanpur, 1996 ; Shweder, 2008 ; Watters, 2010 ). Our research suggests that without opportunities that will help parents concretely realize and explore their child’s capacities in social situations, diagnostic constructs are likely to have a largely indeterminate meaning that remains at a distance from parents’ and extended families’ practical hopes and activities. This distance limits the potential for parent–provider collaborations.

Beginning in Phase 3 and especially Phase 4, when parents contemplate the future implications of their children’s differences from others, their immediate concern is for alternative social situations that will offer their children opportunities to fulfill their potentials. Here arises the interplay of both the acceptance and reshaping of reality, possibly with the help of others. Professionals—medical, educational, or alternative—could play a key role in understanding this paradox, similar to what Larson (1998) called being “embracers of paradox” (1998, p. 871). Though usually trained primarily to change the child’s behaviors, professionals could also offer knowledge and awareness of social opportunities, and of how to creatively reshape them, as another primary role in serving families. Social action possibilities include developing more diversified paths for adult living for people of all walks of life. There are examples in our study of parents searching for alternative adult livelihoods, such as basic manufacturing and the arts. More opportunities can be created locally, ranging from sustainable jobs to a restructuring of society’s safety nets for differently abled children and adults. To be sure, scenarios where the child adapts to local opportunities, has their needs met, and engages in the tasks required of adults in the local milieu are possible. For example, a key informant (healthcare worker) mentioned witnessing a child with potentially diagnosable intellectual disabilities functioning reasonably well in the shepherding work expected by the child’s family. Development of these diversified pathways is a locally negotiated process that could be enhanced by the exploration and creativity of all interested parties mentioned in this study (see also Grinker, 2007 ).

Cultural/transcultural

The study began with an intent to discover how parents in Goa indigenously understood and cared for their child with ASD. Our study shows that research is needed to shed light on both the local and potentially universal (i.e., highly general) aspects of parental care of a child with ASD. In Goa, examples of the three-part structure—learning to meet the new and unfamiliar, caring for their child’s basic needs, and finding an engaging niche with a sense of belonging for their child in the everyday milieu—included the joy of seeing one’s son identify with the family’s agrarian way of life, the danger of a child throwing a stick from an open flame chula cooking apparatus, and the importance of performing in a Hindu play. Research elsewhere suggests that the four-part developmental sequence and three-part structure of parenting may be found in other cultures and with childhood problems other than ASD. Altiere and von Kluge (2009) described distinct phases including the child developing “normally,” parents’ questioning then searching for solutions, and personal/family growth. Similarly, Shaked’s (2005) study of autism in ultraorthodox Israel demonstrated how parents struggled to reintegrate their child into the religious community that they held so dear by both accepting and challenging social norms (i.e., learning to meet the new and finding engagement and belonging). Further, Grinker’s (2007) poignant narratives of parents of children with ASD included the story of a New York parent who devoted her life to creating alternative vocational and recreational centers (i.e., engagement and belonging) and lifelong housing (i.e., care for basic needs) for older persons with autism. Many aspects of parents’ concerns for their child in the present study appear to be similar to those of parents much more generally, but the manifestations of each caring practice are flavored by the local cultural customs and dynamics. Those local flavors are, in turn, influenced by parenting traditions, availabilities for childcare, and the opportunities for engagement and belonging in the family and community. More research is needed in order to further clarify potentially universal features as well as the many richly diverse local manifestations throughout the world.

Limitations and conclusion

The present study has several limitations. The sample was limited to parents who have had contact with professional care centers and whose child attended various services regularly. Families who never made contact with professionals were not included; the sample thus offered a picture of only a limited segment of local experiences. Also, the study relied on interviews with parents, whereas direct observations of family life were not systematically conducted. Consequently, the current study could not do full justice to the complex everyday experiences of families. The present study in Goa revealed similarities to other areas in India; however, more research from other regions in this vastly diverse country would be needed to further confirm and extend the conclusions of this paper. Further research is particularly needed for examining instances of parents and professionals fruitfully collaborating on the paradox of child acceptance–social acceptance/child change–social change.

This investigation of ASD in India reveals a rapidly changing and dynamic landscape. DSM and ICD diagnostic criteria are increasingly utilized by professionals in India ( Daley & Sigman, 2002 ). The descriptive approach of this study and focus on meaning provided insights into parents’ own perspectives and their discovery of the concept of autism in the midst of these historical developments. Parents’ experiences of their child diagnosed with ASD were found to be intimately tied in with fundamental human concerns: that a child is cared for, belongs in the social world, engages in practical activities, and finds enjoyment and contentment in life. These findings imply that helping families meet these needs locally can go a long way towards supporting parents and children in their life journeys.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Autism Speaks (Grant No. 5621) which supports the Autism Research and Training Initiative (ARTI) Project in Goa. VP is supported by a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in Clinical Science. MD was supported by an APA Minority Fellowship (MHSAS) during this time. We would also like to thank Vivek Vajaratkar, Shaheen Badsha, Quincy Marques, and Deepti Parab. Our technical advisory board included Varsha Dessai, Giselle Lobo, Dr Vibha Krishnamurthy, Dr Sunanda Kolli Reddy, and Dr Shoba Srinath who provided guidance to the ARTI team. We also thank those who offered suggestions along the way, including Sarah Kamens and the qualitative research groups at Fordham and Sangath. Portions of this project were presented at the 118th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (Division 32), San Diego, CA. In closing, we gratefully acknowledge the support of the parents and families who made this work possible.

Miraj U. Desai, MA, is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Fordham University and a psychology fellow at the Yale University School of Medicine. He is also an honorary research fellow at Sangath Centre, a community-based health and mental health NGO in Goa, India. His primary research focuses on the following areas: indigenous and cultural psychology; the relationship between psychology and social structures; and contemporary issues in phenomenological psychology, qualitative methods, and philosophy of science. His past research on the lived experience of depression received the Sidney Jourard Award from APA Division 32, Society for Humanistic Psychology. He is a Minority Fellow of the American Psychological Association and is an original member of the Task Force on Indigenous Psychology for APA Division 32. Address: Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY; Sangath, Goa, India. [Email: ude.mahdrof@iasedm ]

Gauri Divan, MRCPCH, is a pediatrician who has been working in the field of developmental and behavioral pediatrics. She is based in Sangath , a nongovernmental organization, working primarily in the field of child development, adolescent health and mental health. Sangath’s key mission and expertise lies in developing and evaluating interventions for childhood developmental disabilities (DD) and mental disorders across the life course, to be delivered through existing public systems. As recognition of its work in Disability, Sangath is the State Nodal Agency for the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Mental Retardation, cerebral Palsy and Multiple Disabilities (government of India). As a consultant in Sangath, she provides clinical services which include the administration of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. She is also a trained facilitator in the Portage Package for Early Childhood Care and Education, which she used as a model to test its feasibility and acceptability to encourage inclusive education in government preschools. She was a coinvestigator in an Autism Speaks grant which explored the qualitative experiences of parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder in Goa, India and was the site principal investigator for an International Clinical Epidemiological Network Trust ( www.inclen.org ) which led an epidemiological study determining the prevalence of 10 neuro-developmental disorders in India. She is currently a collaborator in another Autism Speaks grant, which is aiming to adapt the Preschool Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) to the South Asian context. She teaches on Sangath’s Leadership in Mental Health Course and has just joined the visiting faculty at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria on their Master’s program in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. She is also on a consultative team for the National Trust (government of India).

Frederick J. Wertz, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Fordham University, received his PhD from Duquesne University in Phenomenological Psychology. His scholarship focuses on the philosophical foundations, research methodology, qualitative analytic methods, theoretical problems, and the cultural context of psychology. He has conducted phenomenological psychological research and also written about psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, psychometrics, humanistic psychology, and qualitative research. He coedited Advances in Qualitative Research in Psychology: Themes and Variations (1987, Swets North America), edited The Humanistic Movement: Recovering the Person in Psychology (1994, Gardner Press), and coauthored Five Ways of Doing Qualitative Analysis: Phenomenological Psychology, Grounded Theory, Discourse Analysis, Narrative Research, and Intuitive Inquiry (2011, Guilford Publications). He has been the editor of the Journal of Phenomenological Psychology , The Bulletin of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology , and guest editor of The Humanistic Psychologist . He has served as President of APA’s Society for Humanistic Psychology and Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. He is an APA Fellow, Accreditation Site Visitor, and President of the Interdisciplinary Coalition of North American Phenomenologists. He received the Distinguished Teaching Award in the Sciences at Fordham, where he has chaired the Department of Psychology and serves on the Institutional Review Board.

Vikram Patel, MSc, MRCPsych, PhD, FMedSci, is a Professor of International Mental Health and Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (UK). He is the Joint Director of the School’s Centre for Global Mental Health ( www.centreforglobalmentalhealth.org ). His primary research spans three themes: investigating the social and cultural determinants of mental disorders; describing the interrelationship of mental disorders with other public health priorities; and evaluating interventions aimed at improving access to effective mental health care in low-resource settings. He serves on a number of committees including the WHO’s Expert Advisory Group for Mental Health and the Technical Steering Committee of the Department of Child & Adolescent Health, and the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Brain and Cognitive Sciences. He is a cofounder of Sangath, a community-based NGO in India ( www.sangath.com ) which won the MacArthur Foundation’s International Prize for Creative and Effective Institutions in 2008. He is a member of a group constituted by the Ministry of Health (government of India) tasked with writing India's first mental health policy and designing the National Mental Health Program for the period of 2012–2017. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the UK and won the Chalmers Medal from the Royal Society for Tropical Medicine & Hygiene in 2009. His book Where There Is No Psychiatrist (Gaskell, 2003) has become a widely used manual for community mental health in developing countries. He was an editor of both Lancet series' on global mental health (2007 and 2011); the PLoS Medicine series on packages of care for mental and neurological disorders in developing countries (2009); the Lancet series on promoting universal health care in India (2011) and the forthcoming PLoS Medicine Global Mental Health Practice series. He led the efforts to set up the Movement for Global Mental Health ( www.globalmentalhealth.org ). He is based in Goa, India where he leads a program of public health research and capacity development with Sangath, the Public Health Foundation of India and government agencies focusing on three broad areas: child development, adolescent health and mental health.

Appendix. Interview guide

In-depth interview guide for parents.

• Let’s begin with telling me about your family
• How many people stay in this house (with you)?
• What are the children’s names? How old are they?
• Tell me more about your children.
• Probe: Pregnancy planned/unplanned? Experience of pregnancy. Childbirth normal/complicated? Personal emotions, first 3 years or until the parents first suspected/were told that XXX may be different
• As XXX grew up what was life like in the early days?
• Probe: When did you notice anything different about the way she/he was growing? Compared to whom? For what reasons? Did you call it anything in particular? What did you do? If different then how did you manage? Challenges in looking after XXX? What helped? What didn’t?
• As XXX grew how did people respond to him?
• Probe: Were there any behaviors which upset people, family members, siblings, community?
• Is there any advice that was given to you? What helped? What did not? What has changed since XXX was born?
• What did you think was the cause of XXX differences?
• Probe: Did others have a different opinion? Members of extended family? Siblings? Neighbors? Community? Doctors? If cause changed since early days, probe what made this change happen.
• Probe: How the understanding changed over time? For what reason did it change? Track this process through to the current understanding.

Help seeking

• What made you first think you should turn to somebody outside the family for help? (behavior/worry)
• Who did you go to first?
• Probe: Draw a timeline of all persons visited. Probe for each: reasons for consulting this person. What did they tell you? What did you think of the advice (good/bad)? What was done after each interaction? Ask specific: priest, other help. What are you continuing with now?
• Are you satisfied with what was told to you was the problem? How has this influenced your understanding of your child’s behaviors?

Impact/stigma/discrimination

• What is life like with XXX now? Are there any changes that you have made to your day-to- day life?
• Probe: Siblings? Husband/wife? Emotional/financial implications/social/work?
• Probe: Is there anyone you would not tell? Why?
• Are there any places or occasions that you don’t want to go to? What are the reasons? What do you do for XXX’s birthday? (Compare with other siblings).
• Has your relationship with anyone changed because of XXX; how/why?
• Is there any local way/words that people use to refer to XXX? Ways in which people behave towards him/her?
• Probe: What do their terms represent to you? How do you feel about people using such terms?
• Since the diagnosis has anyone’s behavior changed towards you as a family? How do you handle it?
• Have you had any unpleasant experiences related to how you or your child was treated by others? Can you describe a recent experience/worst experience? What happened? What did you do? How did you feel about this? And your child? How has this affected your life?
• Enjoyable moments?
• What support do you have from outside or in the family?
• Probe: Do you know any other family with children with disabilities? Do you meet up with them? Religious agencies? Other sources? Helpful?

25,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. Take the first step today

Here’s your new year gift, one app for all your, study abroad needs, start your journey, track your progress, grow with the community and so much more.

Verification Code

An OTP has been sent to your registered mobile no. Please verify

Thanks for your comment !

Our team will review it before it's shown to our readers.

Child Development and Pedagogy in Hindi : जानिए क्या है चाइल्ड डेवलपमेंट एंड पेडागोजी और इससे जुड़ी संपूर्ण जानकारी

• Updated on  
• दिसम्बर 19, 2023

भारत एक ऐसा देश है जिसने हमेशा शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में विश्व को मार्गदर्शन देकर विश्वगुरु बनने का काम किया है। भारत में होने वाले लगभग सभी महत्वपूर्ण टीचर एलिजिबिलिटी टेस्ट (जैसे CTET, UPTET, HPTET, PSTET इत्यादि) का एक महत्वपूर्ण विषय Child Development & Pedagogy in Hindi होता है। सरकारी स्कूलों में काम करने के इच्छुक उम्मीदवार अक्सर KVS, DSSSB जैसे शिक्षक भर्ती परीक्षा भी देते हैं, जिनके लिए इस विषय की तैयारी करना अनिवार्य हो जाता है। बाल विकास और शिक्षाशास्त्र का उद्देश्य उम्मीदवारों को बालक के व्यवहार, रुचियों में हो रहे निरंतर परिवर्तन का अध्ययन कराना होता है। शिक्षकों के लिए होने वाले भर्तियो में भी बाल विकास और शिक्षाशास्त्र से जुड़े प्रश्न पूछे जाते हैं। इस ब्लॉग में उम्मीदवार Child Development & Pedagogy in Hindi के बारे में संपूर्ण जानकारी प्राप्त करेंगे।

This Blog Includes:

Child development and pedagogy in hindi, बाल विकास और शिक्षाशास्त्र की परिभाषाएं, बाल विकास और शिक्षाशास्त्र के उद्देश्य, चाइल्ड डेवलपमेंट एंड पेडागोजी का स्कोप, चाइल्ड डेवलपमेंट एंड पेडागोजी का सिलेबस, चाइल्ड डेवलपमेंट एंड पेडागोजी के लिए आवश्यक बुक्स, child development & pedagogy in hindi questions .

Check Out: UPTET ka Syllabus

मानव की प्रकृति को देखा जाए तो विकास एक निरंतर प्रक्रिया हैं। बाल अवस्था से लेकर वृद्धावस्था तक इंसान में अलग अलग तरह के बदलवा आते है जैसे शारीरिक, मानसिक, सामाजिक। इन सभी का अध्ययन बाल विकास कहलाता हैं।

चाइल्ड डेवलपमेंट एंड पेडागोजी एक ऐसा विषय है, जिसके माध्यम से उम्मीदवार शिक्षक बनने के अपने सपने को पूरा कर सकते हैं, इसकी परिभाषाओं को निम्नलिखित बिंदुओं द्वारा समझा जा सकता है;

• मुनरो के अनुसार – एक ऐसी परिवर्तन श्रृंखला जिसमें भ्रूणावस्था से लेकर प्रौढ़ावस्था तक गुज़रता हैं उसे विकास कहा जाता हैं।
• हरलॉक के अनुसार- विकास का मतलब बढ़ते रहने से नहीं है बल्कि इसमें प्रौढ़ावस्था के लक्ष्य कि और परिवर्तनों का प्रगतिशील क्रम रहता है। विकास के परिणाम स्वरूप इंसान में अनेक में विशेषताएं और नईम योग्यताएं स्पष्ट होती है।
• ड्रेवर के अनुसार-विकास, प्राणी में होने वाला प्रगति शील, जो किसी लक्ष्य की और लगातार केंद्रित होता है उदाहरणार्थ – “किसी भी जाति में भ्रूण अवस्था से लेकर प्रौढ़ अवस्था तक उत्तरोत्तर परिवर्तन है।

बाल विकास की प्रक्रिया को रिसर्च का विषय बनाने से पहले मनोवैज्ञानिकों ने कई महत्वपूर्ण उद्देश्य निर्धारित किए हैं। इसका ज्ञान हर अभिभावक और शिक्षक को होना चाहिए क्योंकि इसका पूरा ज्ञान नहीं होने से शिक्षक अपने कर्तव्य को पूरा नहीं कर सकता है। आइए देखते हैं बाल विकास के उद्देश्य क्या हैं-

• बाल विकास से हर शिक्षक को यह बताया जाता है कि वह संतुलित बाल विकास में किस  प्रकार अपना सहयोग दे सकता है।
• बाल विकास के द्वारा बच्चों के विकास में होने वाली विभिन्नताओं के बारे में शिक्षक और अभिभावकों को बताया जाता है।
• इसका प्रमुख उद्देश्य बच्चों के संतुलित विकास के लिए मार्ग  बनाना है जिससे वह पूरी तरह विकास को प्राप्त कर सकें।
• बाल विकास की ऐसी योजना तैयार की जाती है जिससे उसके व्यक्तित्व में निखार आय।
• बाल विकास में उन्हें बच्चों के शरीर में होने वाले परिवर्तनों और समस्याओं के बारे में जिसे दूर किया जा सके।
• बाल विकास का उद्देश्य बच्चों को शारीरिक मानसिक एवं सामाजिक रूप से श्रेष्ठा प्रदान करना है जिससे राष्ट्र के विकास में योगदान दे सकें। इन सब से यह पता चलता है कि बाल विकास का उद्देश्य बच्चों के लिए हर तरफ से विकास के मार्ग खोलना है साथ ही उनकी बाधाओं को दूर करना ,जिससे वह संतुलित रूप से जीवन व्यतीत कर सकें और समाज में अपना योगदान दे सकें।

 Check Out: टीचर बनने की सोच रहे हैं तो जान लीजिए Deled Syllabus

चाइल्ड डेवलपमेंट एंड पेडागोजी की परिभाषा को जानने के बाद आपको इसके स्कोप के बारे में जान लेना चाहिए, जिन्हें निम्नलिखित बिंदुओं के माध्यम से समझा जा सकता है;

• मानसिक विकास -इसके अंदर बच्चों की क्रियाओं के आधार पर बच्चों के मानसिक विकास का अध्ययन किया जाता है। बच्चों में कई तरह के परिवर्तन आने लगते हैं जो उनके मानसिक विभाग में नजर आते हैं। जैसे-गुस्सा आना, नई चीजों का अध्ययन करना आदि।
• शारीरिक विकास – शारीरिक विकास में भ्रूणावस्था से लेकर प्रौढ़ावस्था तक अध्ययन करना शामिल है, और शारीरिक विकास में आ रही बाधाओं का कारण ढूॅंढ़नाऔर उसका हल निकालना ।
• सामाजिक विकास – बाल विकास के अन्दर बालकों के सामाजिक व्यहवार का अध्ययन किया जाता हैं । लोगों के प्रति गुस्सा, प्यार व्यक्त करना आपनी उम्र  के हिसाब से सही व्यहवार करना संतुलित विकास दिखाता हैं ।
• भावनात्मक विकास – अगर बालक अपनी उम्र के हिसाब से खुद को व्यक्त नहीं कर पाता तो वो संतुलत विकास नही हैं। इसमें क्रोध , प्रेम, उत्तेजना आदि का अध्ययन किया जाता हैं । 
• भाषा विकास –  बालक अलग अलग तरह की शब्दों का उच्चारण करता हैं जैसे 1 से 9 की उम्र तक शबदोंच्चारण 118 शब्द शब्द होने चाहिए अगर ऐसा हैं नहीं हैं तो बाल विकास ठीक से नहीं हो रहा हैं ।   

Check Out: Ancient Indian History Quiz

चाइल्ड डेवलपमेंट एंड पेडागोजी का सिलेबस कुछ इस प्रकार है, जो आपको इसके बारे में विस्तृत जानकारी उपलब्ध कराएगा;

चाइल्ड डेवलपमेंट एंड पेडागोजी के लिए आवश्यक बुक्स के बारे में जानने के लिए नीचे दी गयी टेबल पर एक नज़र अवश्य डालें;

उत्तर – (B)लक्ष्यों को प्राप्त करने पर व्यक्तिगत संतुष्टि

उत्तर – (A) 12 वर्ष

उत्तर – (A)अल्फ्रेड बिने

उत्तर – (A)-प्रत्येक बच्चे के संपर्क में रहना 

उत्तर- (D)प्रौढ़ावस्था में

उत्तर (A)परीक्षण और त्रुटि

उत्तर (B)प्रारंभिक बचपन

उत्तर-(A)6 से 14 वर्ष

उत्तर- (A) 125

उत्तर-(B) स्केनर

शिक्षण-कार्य की प्रक्रिया का विधिवत यानि कि सिलसिलेवार तरीके से अध्ययन करना ही शिक्षाशास्त्र या शिक्षणशास्त्र (Pedagogy) कहलाता है।

CheckOut: CTET Syllabus in Hindi 

आशा है कि इस ब्लॉग ने Child Development & Pedagogy in Hindi के बारे में सभी आवश्यक जानकारी प्रदान की होगी है। यदि आप ऐसी किसी प्रतियोगिता की तैयारी कर रहे हैं और आपको सहायता की आवश्यकता है, तो  Leverage Edu के हमारे विशेषज्ञों से संपर्क करें, जो आपको इस पेपर में सफल होने के लिए टिप्स और ट्रिक्स प्रदान करेंगे! अपना 30 मिनट का निःशुल्क करियर परामर्श सत्र बुक करें और अपना करियर व्यवस्थित करें!

Team Leverage Edu

प्रातिक्रिया दे जवाब रद्द करें

अगली बार जब मैं टिप्पणी करूँ, तो इस ब्राउज़र में मेरा नाम, ईमेल और वेबसाइट सहेजें।

Contact no. *

संक्षिप्त में समझाने का सबसे बेहतर तरीका। इसे पीडीएफ में बनाया मैंने धन्यवाद इस सामग्री के लिए..

आपका धन्यवाद, ऐसे ही हमारी वेबसाइट पर बने रहिए।

बच्चों के विकास के बारे में आप ने बहुत ही प्रशंसनीय जानकारी लिखी है। धन्यवाद !

धन्यवाद बलराम, ऐसे ही आप हमारी वेबसाइट पर बने रहें।

This is the best information because of your great writing skills and knowledge. I got to learn a lot by visiting this page.

इस ब्लॉग को सराहने के लिए आपका बहुत-बहुत आभार।

Leaving already?

8 Universities with higher ROI than IITs and IIMs

Grab this one-time opportunity to download this ebook

Connect With Us

25,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. take the first step today..

Resend OTP in

Need help with?

Study abroad.

UK, Canada, US & More

IELTS, GRE, GMAT & More

Scholarship, Loans & Forex

Country Preference

New Zealand

Which English test are you planning to take?

Which academic test are you planning to take.

Not Sure yet

When are you planning to take the exam?

Already booked my exam slot

Within 2 Months

Want to learn about the test

Which Degree do you wish to pursue?

When do you want to start studying abroad.

September 2024

January 2025

What is your budget to study abroad?

How would you describe this article ?

Please rate this article

We would like to hear more.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

LEARNING DISABILITY : A CASE STUDY

The present investigation was carried out on a girl name Harshita who has been identified with learning disability. She is presently studying at ‘Udaan’ a school for the special children in Shimla. The girl was brought to this special school from the normal school where she was studying earlier when the teachers and parents found it difficult to teach the child with other normal children. The learning disability the child faces is in executive functioning i.e. she forgets what she has memorized. When I met her I was taken away by her sweet and innocent ways. She is attentive and responsible but the only problem is that she forgets within minutes of having learnt something. Key words : learning disability, executive functioning, remedial teaching

Related Papers

The Indian Journal of Pediatrics

Sunil Karande , Madhuri Kulkarni

International Journal of Scientific Research in Computer Science Applications and Management Studies

Monika Thapliyal

This paper reviews the research work on 'learning disability' in India. It studies the social and educational challenges for learning disabled, and details research in India, concerning the aspects of diagnosis, assessment, and measures for improvement. The paper critically examines the development in their teaching-learning process, over the years. It highlights the role of special educator in their education and explores the impact of technology and specific teaching-aids in the education of learners with learning disability. The later part of the paper, throws light on the government policies for learning disabled and attempts to interpolate their proposed effect in their learning. It concludes with possible solutions, learner progress, based on the recommendations from detailed analysis of the available literature.

International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics

Shipra Singh

Background: Specific learning disability (SLD) is an important cause of academic underachievement among children, which often goes unrecognized, due to lack of awareness and resources in the community. Not much identifiable data is available such children, more so in Indian context. The objectives of the study were to study the demographic profile, risk factors, co-morbidities and referral patterns in children with specific learning disability.Methods: The study has a descriptive design. Children diagnosed with SLD over a 5 years’ period were included, total being 2015. The data was collected using a semi-structured proforma, (based on the aspects covered during child’s comprehensive assessment at the time of visit), which included socio-demographic aspects, perinatal and childhood details, scholastic and referral details, and comorbid psychiatric disorders.Results: Majority of the children were from English medium schools, in 8-12 years’ age group, with a considerable delay in seek...

Journal of Postgraduate Medicine

Sunil Karande

Fernando Raimundo Macamo

IJIP Journal

The cardinal object of the present study was to investigate the learning disability among 10 th students. The present study consisted sample of 60 students subjects (30 male students and 30 female students studying in 10th class), selected through random sampling technique from Balasore District (Odisha). Data was collected with the help of learning disability scale developed by Farzan, Asharaf and Najma Najma (university of Panjab) in 2014. For data analysis and hypothesis testing Mean, SD, and t test was applied. Results revealed that there is significant difference between learning disability of Boys and Girls students. That means boys showing more learning disability than girls. And there is no significant difference between learning disability of rural and urban students. A learning disability is a neurological disorder. In simple terms, a learning disability results from a difference in the way a person's brain is "wired." Children with learning disabilities are smarter than their peers. But they may have difficulty in reading, writing, spelling, and reasoning, recalling and/or organizing information if left to figure things out by them or if taught in conventional ways. A learning disability can't be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue. With the right support and intervention, children with learning disabilities can succeed in school and go on to successful, often distinguished careers later in life. Parents can help children with learning disabilities achieve such success by encouraging their strengths, knowing their weaknesses, understanding the educational system, working with professionals and learning about strategies for dealing with specific difficulties. Facts about learning disabilities Fifteen percent of the U.S. population, or one in seven Americans, has some type of learning disability, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Indian Pediatrics

Rukhshana Sholapurwala

samriti sharma

Baig M U N T A J E E B Ali

The present article deals with the important factors related to learning disability such as the academic characteristics of learning disability, how learning disability can be identified in an early stage and remedial measures for learning disability. It tries to give an insight into various aspects of learning disability in children that will be of help in designing the tools and administering them properly.

Iconic Research and Engineering Journals

IRE Journals

This article explains how learning disability affect on one's ability to know or use spoken affects on one's ability to know or use spoken or communication, do mathematical calculations, coordinate movements or direct attention learning disabilities are ignored, unnoticed and unanswered such children's needs are not met in regular classes. They needed special attention in classrooms. Learning disability is a big challenge for student in learning environment. The teacher's role is very important for identifying the learning disability. Some common causes and symptoms are there for children with learning disability. The classroom and teacher leads to main important role in identification and to overcome their disabilities.

RELATED PAPERS

Journal of applied clinical medical physics / American College of Medical Physics

Michael Mills

Fiorella Alvarado Pinedo

Gonçalo Ferreira

physica status solidi (a)

Francesca Peiró

Leonardo Carrozzo

Lawrence Moranga

Clovis Dorigon

Gestión de la educación

Luis Fernando Flores Zuniga

Uldis Strazdins

Revista de Estudios Regionales

Rocio Mercadal Perez

Advances in Therapy

Journal of Reproductive Immunology

Siobhan Quenby

Innovation in Aging

Jennifer Schrack

Egyptian Journal of Chemistry

Muhammad Naufal

Revista De Hispanismo Filosofico

Samuel Rodríguez

European Journal of Cell Biology

Jan Naessens

Yoel Enrique Herrera

Antonio Marcos Pereira

Micro and Nano Systems Letters

Veerla Swarnalatha

Elzbieta Jastrzebowska

NPJ microgravity

Michele Baldoni

Sudarsan Padmanabhan

International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics

James Naessens

Anisa Azizah

luis oswaldo sosa gonzalez

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Case Study in Hindi Explained – केस स्टडी क्या है और कैसे करें

आपने अक्सर अपने स्कूल या कॉलेज में केस स्टडी के बारे में सुना होगा । खासकर कि Business Studies और Law की पढ़ाई पढ़ रहे छात्रों को कैसे स्टडी करने के लिए कहा जाता है । पर case study kya hai ? इसे कैसे करते हैं , इसके फायदे क्या हैं ? इस आर्टिकल में आप इन सभी प्रश्नों के बारे में विस्तार से जानेंगे ।

Case study in Hindi explained के इस पोस्ट में आप न सिर्फ केस स्टडी के बारे में विस्तार से जानेंगे बल्कि इसके उदाहरणों और प्रकार को भी आप विस्तार से समझेंगे । यह जरूरी है कि आप इसके बारे में सही और विस्तृत जानकारी प्राप्त करें ताकि आपको कभी कोई समस्या न हो । तो चलिए विस्तार से इसके बारे में जानते हैं :

Case Study in Hindi

Case Study एक व्यक्ति , समूह या घटना का गहन अध्ययन है । एक केस स्टडी में , किसी भी घटना या व्यक्ति का सूक्ष्म अध्ययन करके उसके व्यवहार के बारे में पता लगाया जाता है । एजुकेशन , बिजनेस , कानून , मेडिकल इत्यादि क्षेत्रों में केस स्टडी की जाती है ।

case study सिर्फ और सिर्फ एक व्यक्ति , घटना या समूह को केंद्र में रखकर किया जाता है और यह उचित भी है । इसकी मदद से आप सभी के लिए एक ही निष्कर्ष नहीं निकाल सकते । उदहारण के तौर पर , एक बिजनेस जो लगातार घाटा झेल रहा है उसकी केस स्टडी की जा सकती है । इसमें सभी तथ्यों को मिलाकर , परखकर यह जानने की कोशिश होती है कि क्यों बिजनेस लगातार loss में जा रही है ।

परंतु , जरूरी नहीं कि जिस वजह से यह पार्टिकुलर कम्पनी घाटा झेल रही हो , अन्य कंपनियों के घाटे में जाने की यही वजह हो । इसलिए कहा जाता है कि किसी एक मामले के अध्ययन से निकले निष्कर्ष को किसी अन्य मामले पर थोपा नहीं जा सकता । इस तरह आप case study meaning in Hindi समझ गए होंगे ।

Case Study examples in Hindi

अब जबकि आपने case study kya hai के बारे में जान लिया है तो चलिए इसके कुछ उदाहरणों को भी देख लेते हैं । इससे आपको केस स्टडी के बारे में जानने में अधिक मदद मिलेगी ।

ऊपर के उदाहरण को देख कर आप समझ सकते हैं कि case study क्या होती है । अब आप ऊपर दिए case पर अच्छे से study करेंगे तो यह केस स्टडी कहलाएगी यानि किसी मामले का अध्ययन । पर केस स्टडी कैसे करें ? अगर हमारे पास ऊपर दिए उदाहरण का केस स्टडी करने को दिया जाए तो यह कैसे करना होगा ? चलिए जानते हैं :

Case Study कैसे करें ?

अब यह जानना जरूरी है कि एक case study आखिर करते कैसे हैं और किन tools का उपयोग किया जाता है । तो एक केस स्टडी करने के लिए आपको ये steps फॉलो करना चाहिए :

1. सबसे पहले केस को अच्छे से समझें

अगर आप किसी भी केस पर स्टडी करना चाहते हैं तो आपको सबसे पहले उसकी बारीकियों और हर एक डिटेल पर ध्यान देना चाहिए । तभी आप आगे बढ़ पाएंगे और सही निर्णय भी ले पाएंगे । Case को अच्छे से समझने का सबसे बड़ा फायदा यह है कि इसपर स्टडी करते समय आपको ज्यादा मेहनत नहीं करनी पड़ती । केस को अच्छे से समझने के लिए आप यह कर सकते हैं :

• Important points को हाईलाइट करें
• जरूरी समस्याओं को अंडरलाइन करें
• जरूरी और बारीकियों का नोट्स तैयार करें

2. अपने विश्लेषण पर ध्यान दें

Case Study करने के लिए जरूरी है कि आप अपने analysis पर ध्यान दें ताकि बढ़िया रिजल्ट मिल सके । इसके लिए आप विषय के 2 से 5 मुख्य बिंदुओं / समस्याओं को उठाएं और बारीकी से उनके बारे में जानकारी इकट्ठा करें । इसके बारे में पता करें कि ये क्यों exist करती है और संस्था पर इनका क्या प्रभाव है ।

आप उन समस्याओं के लिए जिम्मेदार कारकों पर भी नजर डालें और सभी चीजों को ढंग से समझने की कोशिश करें तभी जाकर आप सही मायने में case study कर पाएंगे ।

3. संभव समाधानों के बारे में सोचें

किसी भी केस स्टडी का तीसरा महत्वपूर्ण पड़ाव है कि आप समस्या के संभावित समाधानों के बारे में सोचें ।इसके लिए आप discussions , research और अपने अनुभव की मदद ले सकते हैं । ध्यान रहें कि सभी समाधान संभव हों ताकि उन्हें लागू किया जा सके ।

4. बेहतरीन समाधान का चुनाव करें

केस स्टडी का अंतिम पड़ाव मौजूदा समाधानों में से एक सबसे बेहतरीन समाधान का चुनाव करना है । आप सभी समाधानों को एक साथ तो बिल्कुल भी implement नहीं कर सकते इसलिए जरूरी है कि बेहतरीन को चुनें ।

Case Study format

अगर आप YouTube video की मदद से देखकर सीखना चाहते हैं कि Case Study कैसे बनाएं तो नीचे दिए गए Ujjwal Patni की वीडियो देख सकते हैं ।

इस पोस्ट में आपने विस्तार से case study meaning in Hindi के बारे में जाना । अगर कोई प्वाइंट छूट गया हो तो कॉमेंट में जरूर बताएं और साथ ही पोस्ट से जुड़ी राय या सुझाव भी आप कॉमेंट में दे सकते हैं । पोस्ट पसंद आया हो और हेल्पफुल साबित हुई हो तो शेयर जरूर करें ।

• लड़कियों / महिलाओं केआई घर बैठे job ideas
• Petrochemical के बारे में पूरी जानकारी
• Print और electronic media के विभिन्न साधन
• Blog meaning in Hindi क्या है

I have always had a passion for writing and hence I ventured into blogging. In addition to writing, I enjoy reading and watching movies. I am inactive on social media so if you like the content then share it as much as possible .

Related Posts

Escrow account meaning in hindi – एस्क्रो अकाउंट क्या है, personality development course free in hindi – पर्सनैलिटी डेवलपमेंट, iso certificate क्या होता है आईएसओ सर्टिफिकेट के फायदे और उपयोग.

nice info sir thanks

Thanks. It is really very helpful.

I’m glad to know that you found this post about case study helpful! Keep visiting.

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• My Account Login
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Open access
• Published: 03 January 2023

Implications of the POCSO Act and determinants of child sexual abuse in India: insights at the state level

• Shrabanti Maity   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5791-3140 1 &
• Pronobesh Ranjan Chakraborty 2  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  10 , Article number:  6 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

18k Accesses

1 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Social policy

Child sexual abuse is a worldwide phenomenon, and India is not an exception. The magnitude of this grave crime is underrated because of under-reporting. The reality is that the incidence of child sexual abuse has reached epidemic proportions in India. In 2021 only there were 53,874 cases registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012. To enable the all-around protection of children, the Indian government administrated the “Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO)” Act of 2012. The act is a comprehensive piece of legislation designed to protect children from crimes including sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography. The degree to which this act has improved child protection is therefore an important issue for interrogation. Here, we consider the implications of the POCSO Act (2012) in enhancing children’s protection from sexual abuse and pin-point the role of quality of life together with other social, economic, and demographic determinants in foreshortening POCSO incidences. The empirical analysis of the paper is conducted based on secondary data compiled from National Crime Records Bureau. Our empirical results reveal that the POCSO Act has reduced the Growth rate of incidents of sexual offences against children in India from 4.681% to −4.611. Moreover, our empirical results also reveal that by enhancing the quality of life it is possible to restrict the POCSO incidences across Indian states. In addition, favourable sex-ratio, the increased gross enrolment ratio at the elementary level, the improvement in the judiciary and Public Safety Score of the state also enables the state to restrict the POCSO incidences. Based on our empirical result we recommend that future policies could include, for instance, aiming to improve the quality of life as well as the law and order conditions of the state, and increasing the enrolment of the girl children in higher education.

Similar content being viewed by others

Abandoned children in China: the son-preference culture and the gender-differentiated impacts of the one-child policy

Mei Yang, Xinming Xia & Yi Zhou

Joint liability and aggravation? An inspection of legislative and judicial practices in cases of the crime of the abduction, sale, and purchase of women and children in China

Dezheng Wang

Parental death during childhood and violent crime in late adolescence to early adulthood: a Swedish national cohort study

Lisa Berg, Mikael Rostila, … Anders Hjern

Introduction

Around the globe, millions of children irrespective of gender face exploitation and sexual abuse every year. According to UNICEF ( 2022 ), “ About 1 in 10 girls under the age of 20 have been forced to engage in sex or perform other sexual acts ”. In 90% of cases, the accused is known to the victim (UNICEF, 2022 ). Globally, the highest prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is observed in Africa and the corresponding figure is 34.4% (Wihbey, 2011 ; Behere and Mulmule, 2013 ). The reported CSA cases in Europe and America are 9.2% and 10.1%, respectively (Wihbey, 2011 ). The lowest figure may not reflect controlling such horrendous crime but rather may be the consequence of under-reporting (Wihbey, 2011 ). The lowest prevalence of CSA should not be ignored as its scar on the victim should never be ignored (Wihbey, 2011 ). The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data reported in 2006 in the U.S.A., 8.8% of children were victims of child sexual abuse (Miller et al., 2007 ). The reported sexual abuse cases recognised that in 60% of cases victims are within the age of 12 years (Collin-Vézina et al., 2013 ). Barth et al. ( 2013 ) reported every year globally 4% of girls and 2% of boys are victims of CSA and the consequences become extremely severe for about 15% of girls and 6% of boys. The prevalence of CSA in urban China is 4.2% (Chiu et al., 2013 ). The identification of actual global figures concerning CSA is a challenging task because of under-reporting of such crimes (Miller, et al., 2007 ).

India is the home of 472 million children (Chandramouli and General, 2011 ). Children constitute more than one-third of the Indian population (39%). In India, we celebrate “ Children’s Day ” on 14th November, the birthday of the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, who is popularly known as “ Chacha Nehru ”. He dreamt of making India a “ Children’s paradise ”. However, the reality is something else. On 17th November 2020, a 6-year-old girl was raped and then murdered brutally to perform black magic and the accused were arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act (Kanpur (UP), November 17, The Tribune). On 26 th August 2020, a 17-year-old girl was found dead near her house in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district (August 26, 2020, The Indian Express). Before that, another horrendous incident was reported in the same state for a forlorn 13-year-old Dalit girl. Because of the societal status, this case was less talked about. In India, “ child sexual abuse ” is an understated transgression. Only a handful of cases get media attention and the people of India sought justice. Most of the cases remain unexplored. The most talked about “ POCSO ” incident in India was the “ Kathua rape case ”. The case was about “Asifa Bano”, an 8-year-old girl from Rasana village near Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, India, who was gang-raped and then killed in January 2018 Footnote 1 . By closing our eyes, we cannot deny the reality and the reality is that “ child sexual abuse ” in India has reached an epidemic proportion (Moirangthem, et al., 2015 ; Kshirsagar, 2020 ; Tamilarasi et al., 2020 ; Pallathadka et al., 2021 ; Maity, 2022 ). According to the “ National Crime Record Bureau ” in 2019 the highest “ rate of POCSO ” was reported for Sikkim (44.8%).In that list, Uttar Pradesh(8.6%) was ranked 16th among the twenty-eight Indian states (Crime in Indian, 2019 ). This simply evidences the under and/or un-reporting of “ child sexual abuse ” (Crime in Indian, 2021 ), the report shows that in 2021 only 36.5% of crimes against children are registered under POCSO Act (The Indian Express, September 23, 2022).

The Indian government has administrated the “Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO)” Act, 2012 (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2013 ; https://wcd.nic.in ), a specified law, to ensure children’s protection from mal treatment. “ The Act has come into force with effect from 14 th November 2012 along with the rules framed there under. The POCSO Act, 2012 is a comprehensive law to provide for the protection of children from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography while safeguarding the interests of the child at every stage of the judicial process by incorporating child-friendly mechanisms for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and speedy trial of offences through designated Special Courts ” (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2013 ; https://wcd.nic.in ). This act includes “Special Courts”, where the victim child is allowed to record his/her statement on camera in a child-friendly circumstance and simultaneously the child’s identity also remains un revealed. However, this special act is not infallible to protect children from sexual abuse. In 2019, 1510 rape cases in specific and 2091 reported POCSO cases, in general, were filed in Kerala (Kartik. The New Indian Express, 31/01/2020).In fact, in Kerala, children—both boys and girls, have had such horrid experiences at least once in life and the corresponding figure, in this case, are 36% and 35%, respectively (Krishnakumar et al., 2014 ; Moirangthem et al., 2015 ). However, it is not the exceptional one. Between January to June 2019, the total number of registered POCSO cases all over India was 24,212 (Ali, 2019 ).

Child sexual abuse is a global phenomena and a matter of concern for comprehensive existing literature. Researchers observe that CSA health professionals play a crucial role in the identification and protection of children (Fraser et al., 2010 ). Sometimes even a genuine allegation made by a child against a powerful person is reported casually based on the accuser’s disownment. Such reporting reduces the credibility of the incidence (Rubin & Thelen, 1996 ). Researchers also recognise that in most cases assailants are known to the victims (Haque et al., 2019 ; Maity, 2022 ). Concerning the Indian scenario we can say that 90% accused are known to the child (The Times of India, March 1, 2018 ; Maity, 2022 ). Economically weaker and vulnerable are always found to be the soft target for any crime, particularly in developing countries (Bower, 2003 ; Bywaters, et al., 2016 ; Sexton and Sobelson, 2018 ). In India, aged 40 and above, alcoholic, addicted to pornography, illiterate or minor literate, are the common characteristics of the accused of the POCSO Act (2012) (Chowdhuri & Mukhopadhayay, 2016 ).

On the contrary, quality of life indicates the well-being of a state or nation. The “Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)” helps in quantify the qualitative aspect of life (Morris, 1978 ). The variables utilised for index calculation are well defined (for details see Table 9 in appendices) in Morris’s ( 1978 ) article. To avoid the limitations of GDP as a measure of well-being this measure was developed by Morris ( 1978 ). An improvement in PQLI is supposed to be transmitted to minimise the ethnocentricity of culture and development. Accordingly, a favourable PQLI may indicate an environment for equal opportunities for all, and equal safety for all. Thus, it will be interesting to explore the implication of PQLI in protecting children from sexual offences. Childhood experiences of sexual exploitation adversely affect adulthood’s psychological, physical, and socio-economic well-being and thus deteriorate the adult’s physical quality of life (Downing et al., 2021 ). Childhood experiences of sexual abuse may result in permanent scars on a child’s well-being and quality of life (Chahine, 2014 ). It is noteworthy that earlier studies were concentrated on exploring the consequences of CSA on the physical quality of life. However, the present study unlike the earlier involves in self exploring the consequences of the improvement of PQLI on CSA. It is not worthy that the relation between CSA and PQLI is rare in literature and almost absent in empirical studies where improvement of PQLI’s effect on CSA is explored.

This back drop motivates us to explore the research questions, viz., does the POCSO Act, 2012 has any implication in creating India as a children’s paradise? Simultaneously, we also want to explore, does amplification of the quality of life of Indian citizens and Judiciary and Public Safety Scores help in reducing POCSO incidences? These research questions when unfold, result in twin objectives. Initially, the study explores the aftermaths of the “ Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ” (POCSO) (2012), on protecting children from sexual offences. Then the paper tries to unfold different socio-economic factors, including “ Quality of Life ” that helps in revamping children’s safety across Indian states. The novelty of the study is that it is the first attempt to explore the role of the POCSO Act (2012), on child sexual abuse. The earlier studies, such as Kshirsagar ( 2020 ), Tamilarasi et al. ( 2020 ), are non-empirical documentation of the POCSO Act (2012).The study by Pallathadka et al. ( 2021 ), is an experimental study investigating the effectiveness of the inclusion of the knowledge of the POCSO Act (2012).

In a teaching programme in reducing CSA the only empirical study we find is Maity ( 2022 ). However, this study mainly focuses on the efficacy of the enhancement of police efficiency in reducing POCSO incidences across Indian states. In this sense, it is the first attempt of such type. Moreover, this study also explores the implication of the improvement of quality of life and improvement of Judiciary and Public Safety (JPS) in the foreshortening of child sexual abuse. This study perhaps is the first attempt of such kind. The present study explores the role of PQLI and JPS scores in foreshortening the CSA and this establishes the novelty of the study. Thus, our contribution to the existing literature is this study tries to test empirically the inevitability of the act in foreshortening CSA in India. Beyond that, this study tries to explore with other factors the role of quality of life in reducing CSA in India.

The study follows the aforementioned sequence: Section “Methods” deals with the materials and methods required for exploring the above-mentioned objectives. Section “Results and Discussion” presents the empirical results with a discussion concerning the implication of POCSO on children’s protection and the identification of the influencing factors of recorded POCSO incidences. Finally, Section “Conclusion and policy implications” concludes and presents policy implications.

The theoretical foundation of the economics of crime is discussed in this section. In conjunction with that, the major data sources and the concerned variables are described in this section. The econometric models, which are utilised to investigate the said objectives are also presented in this section.

Conceptual framework

According to Becker ( 1968 ), criminals possess different attitudes concerning costs and benefits and this difference in viewpoint is the principal imputes for them to commit a crime. These attitudinal differences motivate a person to commit a crime despite the likelihood of being arrested by police, convicted and to be imprisoned by the legal system. In this regard, the “Economic Theory of Crime” is based on the assumption that a person will devote his/her time and other resources to commit a crime/offence if the person believes that his/her expected utility by committing the crime exceeds the expected utility from other activity utilising the same time and resources. The theory can be formulated mathematically by using vonNeumann and Morgenstern ( 2007 ), expected utility function.

Ehrlich ( 1996 ) defines that a person may decide to divide his/her total working time between criminal activities ( \(b_{{\mathrm{crime}}}\) ) under uncertain conditions and legitimate activities ( \(b_{{\mathrm{legal}}}\) ) under certain conditions. The income generated from devoting specific time to legal activities is denoted by \(W\left( {b_{{\mathrm{legal}}}} \right)\) . On the contrary, the income generated from devoting specific time to illegal activities is denoted by \(W\left( {b_{{\mathrm{crime}}}} \right)\) depending on the probability of being arrested p and not arrested ( 1–p ). If the person involves in both legal and illegal activities simultaneously and he/she has an initial wealth \(W_{{\mathrm{Initial}}}\) , then the income obtained from both legal and illegal activities and not being apprehended is given by:

On the contrary, if the person is convicted and arrested he/she has to pay a penalty \(Y_2\) depending on whether he/she is devoted to the criminal activities \(Z_{{\mathrm{crime}}}\left( {b_{{\mathrm{crime}}}} \right)\) . Under such circumstances the income generated is:

The objective of the individual is to maximise his/her expected utility by dividing his/her entire time into legal and illegal activities. Thus, the expected utility can be presented by the following equation:

To determine the optimal time to be devoted for criminal activities ( \(b_{{\mathrm{crime}}}\) ) we determine the first-order-condition as follows:

where \(w_{{\mathrm{legal}}} = \frac{{dW_{{\mathrm{legal}}}}}{{db_{{\mathrm{crime}}}}}\) , \(w_{{\mathrm{crime}}} = \frac{{dW_{{\mathrm{crime}}}}}{{db_{{\mathrm{crime}}}}}\) , \(z_{{\mathrm{crime}}} = \frac{{dZ_{{\mathrm{crime}}}}}{{db_{{\mathrm{crime}}}}}\) and \(U^\prime (Y_i) = \frac{{dU\left( {Y_i} \right)}}{{db_{{\mathrm{crime}}}}}\forall i = {\mathrm{crime}},{\mathrm{legal}}\)

We assume that the concerned person is a risk averter and thus the person copes with both legal and illegal activities simultaneously. This implies equilibrium is ensured by the condition \(U^\prime \left( {Y_1} \right) = U^\prime \left( {Y_2} \right)\) given that equal wealth is generated from legal and illegal activities, that is, \(Y_1 = Y_2\) . Therefore the necessary condition to devote time to illegal activities is given by the equation:

Díez-Ticio and Brande´s ( 2001 ), mentioned the propensity of criminality can only be reduced in society through a reduction in economic inequality. The economic paradigm discloses two types of incentives for crime, viz., positive and negative (Domínguez et al., 2015 ). The negative incentives will demoralise and prevent criminals to commit a crime. On the contrary, positive incentives will encourage delinquents to choose legitimate alternatives (Ehrlich, 1973 ; Domínguez et al., 2015 ).

Stationarity checking

The stochastic process must be stationary for the reliability and validity of the result. The prediction and policy prescription based on the non-stationary stochastic process is not reliable. The checking of “ stationarity ” of the time series variable is the primal concern for the time series analysis. This is particularly because stationarity of the time series variable ensures universality of the estimated result as well as applicability of the variable for prediction and policy prescription. Two non-parametric tests, viz., “ Augmented Dicky Fuller Test (ADF)” and “ Phillips Perron Test (PP)” are available for this purpose. However, we will conclude about “ stationarity ” of the stochastic process based on the “ Phillips-Perron (PP)” test. As the test is more robust for testing heteroscedasticity in error variance (Phillips and Perron, 1988 ) and has greater powers than the “Augmented Dickey and Fuller (ADF)” test (Banerjee et al., 1993 ). Moreover, the test is free from the specification of the lag length, which is mandatory in the case of the ADF technique (Debnath and Roy, 2012 ).

Test equations in two cases are presented below.

Augmented Dicky Fuller Test:

Phillips Perron Test:

In both cases the hypothesis to be tested is \(H_0:\delta = 0\) and the corresponding test statistic is

Structural break and growth rate

The implication of the “ Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ” (POCSO) (2012), for revamping children’s security in India can only be explored by considering structural breaks together with analysing the growth of POCSO incidences. The study period for the empirical analysis is from 2001 to 2019. As the natures of crimes against children have changed over time we have included only those crime heads, which are common during the entire study period as well as in POCSO Act (2012). This practice enables us to ensure uniformity of the data and allows us to conduct time series analysis. The selection of the study period is guided by the availability of data. The study period is susceptible to various policy changes for the “ Protection of Women and Child Rights ”. The “Ministry of Women and Child Development” has been administrating various special laws focusing on women and child protection. It is noteworthy that India is a signatory to the “ United Nations Convention on Right of Child (UNCRC) ” since 1992. In adherence to its commitment to ensuring child rights, the Government of India has framed different national policies to protect child rights from time to time, viz., “The Commissions for Protection of Child Right (CPCR) Act, 2005”, “The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006”, “The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012”, “Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015”. The Government of India has also framed the National Policy for Children, 2013 and the National Plan of Action, 2016 (Ministry of Women and Child Development, Press Information Bureau, 2019). Naturally one can expect to have structural breaks during this period. The existence of the structural break makes the normal time series analysis and growth rate calculation inapplicable. Consequently, the identification of the switching point is essential and an appropriate growth rate can only be obtained by calculating the same for different regimes as depicted by the switching points. The identification of the break or switching point should be facilitated by some statistical criterion, viz., “ Chow Test ” (Chow, 1960 ), “ CUSUM ” and “ CUSUMQ ” tests. As “ Chow Test ” is criticised for the arbitrariness problem, we have utilised the “CUSUMQ” test. Brown et al. ( 1975 ), introduces the CUSUM and CUSUMSQ tests for stability checking in parameter. Based on the scaled recursive residuals the break points are identified by the CUSUM and CUSUMSQ tests. The identification of the break points is also facilitated by the Chow ( 1960 ) tests. However, the greatest advantage of the CUSUM and CUSUMSQ tests is that these tests do not require prior knowledge of the point where the hypothesised structural switching points are expected to occur. The mathematical underpinning of the CUSUMQ test is as follows:

We consider a generalised linear regression model as

where x is a ( k  ×  1 ) vector with unit first element and ( k–1 ) are the observed value of the independent variables at time t . \(\beta _t\) is the ( k  ×  1 ) vectors of parameters. \(u_t\) is IID and \(u_t \sim N(0,\sigma ^2)\) . The recursive residuals are defined as:

where \(X_r = \left[ {x_1,x_2,....\,,x_r} \right]\) and \(y_r^\prime = \left[ {y_1,y_2,....\,,y_r} \right]\) and \(\hat \beta _{r - 1}\) is the vector of OLS estimates of the regression Eq. ( 9 )

The test statistic corresponding to CUSUMQ test is developed based on the recursive residuals are defined in (10). The corresponding test statistic is given as follows:

where \(\hat \sigma ^2 = \frac{{\mathop {\sum}\limits_{t = 1}^T {(y_t - x_t^\prime \hat \beta _r)^2} }}{{T - k}}\)

Under the null hypothesis that the parameters are constant, that is,

\(H_0:\beta _t = \beta\) with \(\sigma _t^2 = \sigma _t^2\) \(\forall t = 1,2,....\,,T\) Eq. ( 11 ) follows a distribution with parameters r   –   k and T   –   k . In the conventional CUSUMQ test we use symmetric error bands and the corresponding pairs of lines are given by \(\left[ { \pm critical\,value + \frac{{(r - k)}}{{(T - k)}}} \right]\) . The critical value is obtained from the Durbin ( 1969 ), table.

After the identification of the switching points, the growth rate will be calculated following the “ Poirier’s Spline function approach (Poirier & Garber, 1974 )”. Poirier’s Spline function approach (Poirier & Garber, 1974 ), helps us to determine the trend in the growth of the variable of interest in different regimes.

Assuming a linear time trend, the postulated model is presented as follows:

where, \(t_1\) is the switching point.

We next define following variables:

By reparameterisize we rewrite the function as follows:

For the i th (i  =  1, 2) regime the growth rate in percentages will be obtained by using the following formula:

where \(\beta _1 = \gamma _1\) and \(\beta _2 = \gamma _1 + \gamma _2\) . The Eq. ( 15 ) helps in computing the growth rate for different regimes. Based on the change in economic policy or structure we may obtain more than one structural break point and accordingly, the corresponding model for analysing the growth rate will be modified. The growth rate for the entire study period will be computed by utilising the following equations:

Regression analysis

One of the objectives of the study is to explore the implications of the improvement in the “ quality of life ” and “ Judiciary and Public Safety Score (JPSS) ” in revamping children’s safety and security. This objective is explored based on the cross-sectional information of bigger Indian states’ on a list of relevant variables, including “PQLI” as one of the regressors. Another interesting regressor is the JPSS , which is used to portray the law and order condition of a state. This score is calculated using a number of indicators that reflect a state’s law and order situation (for more information, see Table 1 ). The selection of the sample period and the Indian states is strictly guided by data availability. The list of the regressors along with their definitions and data sources are presented in Table 1 . It is noteworthy that the regresand here is the rate of recorded POCSO cases. We didn’t pursue panel regression here because of the non-availability and decadal nature of data. The specified regression equation is:

where, x is a ( 1XK ) vector of regressor and \(\beta = (\beta _1,\beta _2,.....\,,\beta _K)^\prime\) is a ( KX1 ) vector. To incorporate an intercept term we will simply assume that \(x_1 \equiv 1\) , as this assumption makes interpreting the conditions easier (Wooldridge, 2016 ). y is a scalar. The equation-(17) can be estimated by using OLS method. The OLS estimators will be Best Linear Unbiased Estimators (BLUE) iff all the “ Gauss-Markov ” assumptions are satisfied.

It is noteworthy that “ quality of life ” here is proxied by the “ Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) ”. The index was developed based on Morris ( 1980 ) (see Tables 9 and 10 in the appendices for details). Thus, PQLI is calculated by using the following formula:

The regression analysis is conducted based on the latest available information of all concerned regressors as well as regressand (Bhaumik, 2015 ).

However, the regression analysis to explore the determining factors of POCSO incidences across Indian states will be meaningful if there is variation in the reported POCSO incidences. Thus, before conducting regression analysis, the appropriateness of such analysis is tested by performing non-parametric ANOVA.

The present study is entirely based on published secondary data. The major data sources are “ National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) ”, “ Census of India (2011) ”, “ Sample Registration System (SRS) ”, “ Central Statistics Office (CSO)” , “ Ministry of Human Resource Development ”, “ Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India ” and “ National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).” The crime statistics in the present paper have mainly been compiled from NCRB for different years. It is noteworthy that concerning the “Incidents of sexual offences against children”, we have considered statistics related to the crime heads, which are common in the entire study period. As such, we have considered only those statistics related to child sexual abuse that are included later in the POCSO Act (2012). We did not include all crimes committed against children in this paper. By summing some specific crime heads, we have calculated “Incidents of sexual offences against children” for this paper to ensure uniformity in the data to facilitate the time series analysis. On the contrary, the empirical analysis of the second objective is facilitated by various regressors, including a composite index, the “Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI”),” which is compiled from various published sources. The composite scores of “ Judiciary and Public Safety Score ( JPSS )” reflecting the law and order condition of any state are obtained from the “ Good Governance Index, Assessment of State of Governance 2020–21 ” report. The detailed descriptions of the variables together with their sources are presented in Table 1 .

The variables utilised for delineating the PQLI are narrated in Table 9 in the appendices. It is noteworthy that the exploration of the first objective is executed by considering the “ total number of reported cases of sexual offences against children, viz., Rape (Section 376 IPC), Unnatural Offence (Section 377 IPC), Assault on Women (Girl Child) with Intent to Outrage her Modesty (section 354 IPC), Sexual Harassment (Section 354A IPC), etc .,” during the time period 2001 to 2019. To ensure uniformity of data we have considered selected crime heads, which are common to entire study period and also included in the POCSO Act (2012). The uniformity of crime heads authorises us to conduct time series analysis over the study period. Moreover, we have considered here “Incidents of sexual offences against children” for the time series analysis and not the rate to avoid further normalisation. The “Incidents of sexual offences against children” are calculated by summing different crime heads committed against children. These crime heads are common for the entire study period as well as also included in the POCSO Act (2012) (see Table 1 for more information). The choice of the sample period is dictated by data availability. On the contrary, pin-pointing the socio-economic determinants of the “ Rate of cases reported under POCSO ” is accomplished by considering the cross-sectional data across Indian states. Because of the cross-sectional data we have considered the “ Rate of cases reported under POCSO ” as regressor and not the actual incidences to facilitate cross-sectional analysis. The empirical analysis of the second objective is facilitated by the latest available information for the twenty bigger states in India (Bhaumik, 2015 ). The selection of the states and the sample period is purely based on the availability of relevant information on the concerned variables.

Results and Discussion

In this section, we will present the empirical results related to the objectives obtained by applying the said methodology and the possible reasons behind such empirical results.

Summary statistics Sexual Offences Against Children

Sexual offences against children (SOAC) have been a hidden problem in India and are largely ignored both in social discourse as well as by the criminal justice system. Table 2 presents the summary statistics of the sexual offences committed against children over the time period from 2001 to 2019.

The table reveals that the mean incidence of SOAC is 13097.42 while the mean rate of the same is ~3%. Considering the huge population of India, this 3% figure is amounted to more than 13,000 incidences. The minimum incidence is a petrified figure (2113), and the corresponding maximum incidences are more than 47,000. As we are considering only the Indian scenario concerning SOAC, the impact of the POCSO act is analysed considering the “ Incidences of Sexual Offences against Children ”.

The incidences of sexual offences against children over the time period are also presented graphically in Fig. 1 .

Authors’ own presentation based on NCRB data.

The figure discloses a sharp increase up to 2013 and then, in 2014, it decreased marginally. In the next 2 years, India witnessed a sharp escalation of the incidences of sexual offences against children. In 2017, India witnessed a marginal decline in incidences. However, this decrease only lasts a year before the incidences rise again until 2019. The extreme fluctuations of the “ Incidences of Sexual Offences against Children ” indicating that there may be switching points in the study period and further investigation is required to understand the influence of different act legislated by the Indian government time-to-time for the protection of children.

Unit-root test

The stationarity of the time series is tested by using both the “Augmented Dickey and Fuller (ADF)” and the “Phillips-Perron (PP)” tests. However, to conclude about the stationarity of the stochastic process, we emphasise the “Phillips-Perron” test as it has greater power than the ADF test (Banerjee et al., 1993 ). The test result of the “ Incidents of sexual offences against children ” is presented in Table 3 .

The table reveals that we must accept the null hypothesis of unit root at the level. This means the variable is non-stationary and to make it stationary we consider the first difference of the variable. Further application of both tests on the first difference ensures the stationarity of the concerned variable. Therefore, for the analysis of the implication of the POCSO Act (2012), we must precede with a first difference as the differencing makes the stochastic process stationary. However, because of differencing, we lost one observation. Thus, the empirical investigation of the first objective will be executed by considering the “ Incidents of sexual offences against children ” for the time period 2002 to 2019. The apriori conditions for time series analysis, such as uniformity of statistical information and stationarity, are ensured, and thus we can proceed to structural break analysis.

Structural breaker switching points

Figure 1 discloses that there are fluctuations in the incidences of sexual offences against children in India. Moreover, the results related to PP and ADF tests suggest that the stochastic process is non-stationary at the level. Figure 1 and Table 3 together provide evidence to suspect that there may be structural breaks in the series. The structural break appears when there is an unexpected shift in the series. The possible reasons for that may be a change in the policy or structure of the economy, etc. In the present paper, the identification of the switching point of the time series variable is facilitated by the application of the “CUSUM squares test (CUSUMQ)” because of its superiority over the “Chow test”. When the switching points are unknown, the “CUSUM squares test (CUSUMQ)” is thought to be the most suitable method for determining the same. Figure 2 presents the test result of the CUSUMQ test.

Authors’ own calculation based on NCRB data.

The CUSUMQ test result reveals that the series has two break points, viz., in 2008 and 2015 and the result is significant at a 5% level. These two switching points divide our entire study period into three regimes viz., Regime-I (2002 to 2008), Regime-II (2009 to 2015), and Regime-III (2016 to 2019). Therefore, based on the switching point as dictated by the CUSUMQ test, we have divided our study period into three regimes. The critical question is, why do such unexpected changes occur with SOAC cases? In search of this question, we came across that the “Ministry of Women and Child Development” has been administering various special laws relating to women and children, such as “The Commissions for Protection of Child Right (CPCR) Act, 2005”, “The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006”, and “The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012”. Any policy change to protect children from any form of sexual abuse will take time to become effective. Consequently, if any policy change materialises in some period of time, say, 2005–2006, its implications will be felt after 1 or 2 years. Therefore, the first break point we obtain may be because of the influence of “The Commissions for Protection of Child Right (CPCR) Act, 2005”, “The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006”, and because of “The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012”, the second switching point appears. This is because although the act was passed in the Indian parliament in 2012, the implementation of the act takes time and was executed fully from 2016 onwards. NCRB also provides POCSO statistics from 2016 only. Consequently, the implications of these acts on children’s protection can be analysed by calculating the growth rate of SOAC for different time regimes by satiating the switching points.

Growth rate of incidents of sexual offences against children in India

We now consider the exploration of our first objective—the implication of the POCSO act in controlling the incidences of sexual offences against children in India. Based on the CUSUMQ test, we have divided our entire study period into three regimes, viz., Regime-I (2002 to 2008), Regime-II (2009 to 2015), and Regime-III (2016 to 2019). The third regime will enable us to analyse the implication of the POCSO act in revamping children’s paradise in India. To investigate the objective, we separately estimate the growth rate of SOAC incidences during these three different regimes, and the empirical result is shown in Table 4 . The estimations of the growth rates for different regimes are derived from Poirier’s Spline function approach (Poirier & Garber, 1974 ).

The growth rate of SOAC in Regime-I (2002 to 2008) was 1.219, a positive but controlled figure. As mentioned earlier, the Regime-II (2009–2015) may be expected to reflect the impact of two laws, viz., “ The Commissions for Protection of Child Right (CPCR) Act, 2005 ” and “ The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 ”, that have been administrated by “The Ministry of Women and Child Development” in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Unfortunately, our empirical findings indicate that these two laws do not protect children from “sexual offences.” The growth rate of SOAC during Regime-II escalated to 4.681. This may be because perhaps these laws are not focused on giving protection to children from sexual abuse. The former one was addressing the protection of children’s rights and the focus of the latter one was to forbid child marriage. None of these acts focus on terminating the sexual abuse of a child . Consequently, none of the act becomes king pin for minimising the sexual abuse of a child. On the contrary, on May 22, 2012, the Parliament of India passed the “ Protection of Children against Sexual Offence Bill, 2011 ” concerning the sexual abuse of a child (Bajpai, 2018 ) and, based on that, the “ Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 ” was enacted. The act is centred on ensuring a strong legal framework for protecting children from sexual offences of any kind, including rape, sexual harassment, and pornography (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2013 ). Consequently, the “ POCSO Act, 2012 ”, becomes the first safeguard law for protecting children from sexual offences. The act was enacted in 2012, so we can expect the implication of this policy change to materialise from 2015 onwards. The NCRB provides recorded POCSO incidences, victims, and rates from 2016 onward. Therefore, we can expect the implication of the “ POCSO Act, 2012 ” to materialise in the Regime-III . Legitimately, the empirical result suggests that the “ POCSO Act, 2012 ” helps in reducing the sexual abuse of children . The growth rate of “ sexual offences against children ” in Regime-III declined to −4.611. Therefore, we can conclude that the “ POCSO Act, 2012 ” helps to reduce the sexual abuse of children and revamp children’s safety and security.

After exploring the implication of the “ POCSO Act, 2012 ”, in revamping children’s paradise, we next explore if there is any variation in reported POCSO incidences across Indian states or not. If variation exists, then only there organisation of the factors responsible for the successful implementation of the “ POCSO Act, 2012 ” across Indian states will be meaningful.

Variation in POCSO incidences across Indian states

To understand the variation in the “ Rate of cases reported under POCSO ” across Indian states, we performed a non-parametric ANOVA test considering 20 bigger Indian states for the time period 2016 to 2019. Table 5 presents the test result.

The table shows that the 1% threshold of statistical significance rejects the null hypothesis, H 0 : no inter-state variation , in the “Rate of instances reported under POCSO” across Indian states. The high F -statistic’s value of 19.417 demonstrates that there is considerable inter-state variation in the “Rate of instances reported under POCSO”. This result elucidates that there must be some determining factors for the inter-state variations. This test then authorised us to perform regression analysis in an attempt to identify the factors influencing the “ Rate of cases reported under POCSO ”.

Factors influencing the rate of reported POCSO cases

We next consider the pin-pointing of the role of PQLI along with other regressors in reducing reported POCSO cases for Indian states. The “ Ordinary Least Squares ” is our estimation technique, and thus the post-estimation of the validation of the OLS is also verified in this paper. The apriori condition for cross-sectional analysis, representative data, is primarily scrutinised by the descriptive statistics of the regression variables, which confirms the appropriateness of the regression analysis (see Table 11 in appendices). Table 6 presents the regression result.

A close perusal of the table divulges that the percentage of SC population, 0–19 Sex-ratio, Urbanisation, POCSO Percentage Share of Known Persons Cases to Total Cases, Secondary Gross Enrolment Ratio, PQLI, Judiciary and Public Safety Score (JPSS), and Employment relate male migration (Male migration) have a Significant footprint on the rate of reported POCSO cases . The regressors SC and ST are both positively related to POCSO . Historically, it is patently true that the lower castes, vis-à-vis weaker sections of society, are always as of target for any form of crime (Bower, 2003 ; Bywaters, et al., 2016 ; Sexton and Sobelson, 2018 ).

Here, we are also getting the reverberation of the paten fact. It is noteworthy that the estimated coefficient for ST is not statistically significant. The negative role of the JPSS demonstrates that enhancement in the law and order condition in the state results in the reduction of POCSO incidences. The result is pronounced. The improved law and order condition reflects the state’s efficacy in protecting its citizens. The state can provide a safe environment for normal daily life activities. Consequently, improvement in the JPSS fore shortens POCSO incidences in particular and crime as a whole. The absence of the implication of such an independent variable on POCSO cases in earlier studies prevents us from presenting any earlier study in support of our findings. The negative and significant value of the estimated coefficient 0–19 Sex-ratio enables us to pin-point that a favourable sex-ratio at any age will help to minimise any form of sexual offence.The favourable sex-ratio may give the voice less a voice and make it possible to recognise sexual offences, including sexual abuse of children (Kansal, 2016 ; Maity & Sinha, 2018 ; Maity, 2019 ). Based on our research, it is clear that most often it is a close family who abuses a child, the corresponding estimated coefficient, 0.438 is significant at 1% level. The well-established truth is confirmed by this finding. According to a research, the victims are familiar with 90% of the perpetrators (The Times of India, March 1, 2018 ; Maity, 2022 ). We draw two paradoxical results from our regression analysis, viz., an increase in both urbanisation and secondary gross enrolment ratio (elementary GER turns out statistically insignificant), and increase in the reported POCSO incidences. This may be because lower-class residents in urban regions frequently work in low-wage, ad hoc occupations. Even the primary female members need to work to pay the bills. Children become an easy target for any type of sexual assault when their parents are not present. Additionally, young kids are sometimes hired as domestic an assistant, which renders them more susceptible to this kind of crime. Education improves view points and gives the voice less a platform. The positive correlation between SGER and POCSO occurrences may be due to this. Here, we solely take into account recorded POCSO incidents. Because of their increased knowledge and awareness, the parents were eventually able to report the crime to the police after overcoming a variety of social stigmas, prejudices, and beliefs. The most interesting result is the relationship between POCSO-reported cases and PQLI. The estimated coefficient is not only statistically significant but also the sign of the coefficient is desirable. The estimated coefficient envisages a juxta position of the “ quality of life ” and “ reported POCSO cases ”. Consequently, the estimated coefficient allows us to conclude that by enhancing the “ quality of life ”, it is possible to deplete “ reported POCSO cases ” and revamp children’s paradise on earth. Finally, employment-related male migration is found to influence the reported POCSO cases positively. The result reflects the Indian societal structure where in the male is the undisputed leader of the family (Maity & Sinha, 2018 ; Maity, 2019 ). When the family’s main bread winner moves to another location, state, or country, the female members of the family become easy prey for others. Under such a scenario, the little one becomes more exposed to crime reported under POCSO. Only by speaking out against such crimes by other family members, including females, can such incidents be avoided. The absence of earlier literature concerning this prevents us from presenting any earlier study in support of our study. The table also presents the “ beta coefficient ”. A perusal of “ standardised coefficients ” discloses the paramount factor for reducing “ reported POCSO cases” Is the “quality of life” , followed by “ JPSS ” and a favourable “0 – 19 Sex-ratio ”. On the contrary, the “ standardised coefficients “reveal that “ POCSO known person ” and “ urbanisation ” is the most important factor in enhancing “ reported POCSO cases ”. The possible reasons for such results are explained earlier.

The testaments of the five basic assumptions which are necessary for the OLS estimators to be BLUE are examined thereafter.

The “ Adjusted Coefficient of Determination ”, \(\bar R^2\) is a measure of “ goodness of fit ” in a multiple regression model. The rule of thumb is higher the value better the fit. In the present model, \(\bar R^2\) is 0.8664, means best fit. The model is also well-specified, with a high F -statistic of 6.67 and a Prob >  F of 0.0062.

The normality of the error term is the primary condition for the OLS estimators to be BLUE. Graphical and statistical verification of the normality of the error term is performed here. For statistical verification of normality, we have used the “Shapiro–Wilk W -test for normal data.” The results are depicted graphically in Figure 3 and statistically in Table 7 .

Authors’ own calculation.

The null hypothesis of the test is that the corresponding distribution is normal. As disclosed in Table 7 , the large p -value (0.11) indicates the acceptance of \(\hat u_i\) is normally distributed. Thus, the normality of the residuals is established.

Heteroskedasticity

Based on the cross-sectional information, an empirical inspection of the determinants of the rate of reported POCSO cases across Indian states is performed. Accordingly, non-constancy of the error variance is a common phenomenon. To ensure homoscedasticity of the error variance, we conduct the Breusch-Pagan/Cook-Weisberg test for heteroskedasticity and Cameron and Trivedi’s decomposition of the IM-test. Here,

\(H_0\) : Constant Variance ,

The test results are presented in Table 7 ensures constancy of error variance or homoscedaticity .

Multicollinearity

Only in the absence of multicollinearity can independent effects of the regressors on the regressand be obtained. The Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) of the regression helps us to confirm the absence of multicollinearity. The corresponding result is presented in Table 8 .

Both VIF and the tolerance (1/VIF) are to be checked for the confirmation of the absence of multicollinearity. The table shows that for all regressors, the VIF and the tolerance (1/VIF) are within the prescribed level and thus corroborates the absence of multicollinearity .

Consequently, the OLS estimators presented in Table 6 are BLUE, and the conclusions drawn from these estimators are universal.

Conclusion and policy implications

The present study pivot around two research questions, viz., firstly, does the “ Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act” (PCSO) (2012), contribute to reducing “ sexual abuse of children ” in India? Secondly, does the escalation of “ Quality of life ” also entail a reduction of “sexual abuse of children”? Our empirical findings authorise us to conclude affirmatively in both cases. Based on our empirical findings we can suggest the following policy prescriptions to fore shorten “ child sexual abuse ” in India.

Firstly , improvement of “ quality of life ” will benefit everyone in society and that is the rudimentary reason for the negative sign. Improvement of the “ quality of life ” also ensures child protection together with the up-gradation of human capital. This yields in the enhancement of socio-economic conditions and that results in enhancing the safety and security of all. Therefore, both the state and the central governments must focus to improve the “ quality of life ” of their citizens. Secondly , the positive sign of the estimated coefficient of the “ secondary gross enrolment ratio ” encourages us to prescribe that emphasis should be placed on the enrolment of children in schools and encourage them for continuing education. Education will empower them, equip them to recognise “ good and bad touch ”, give them to voice against any “kind of sexual offence” without fear, and ultimately empower them to break “ irrational social stigma ”. In fact, only education empowers them to recognise and protest when they are the victims of “ sexual abuse ” by the “ known person ” Hence, only by encouraging parents to enrolment and continue of education of their children, including girl children, it is possible to fore shorten “ reported POCSO cases ” one day. Thirdly , recognising that lower cast people are soft targets of crime including “ child sexual abuse ”, a special provision in the law is demanded to protect these people. In fact, the “Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989”,is there to protect SC and ST people. However, the mere existence of such acts does not guarantee the protection of SC and ST people. Only detecting and punishing such offences on a fast-track basis can foreshorten such crimes. The concentration of power among the high-caste people is one of the sources of such crimes. The distribution of powers, especially political power may furnish some solution. Identifying this, the Government of India reserved certain numbers of political positions for specific groups of the population including “ Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes ”. However, without changing the mentality of people, it is not possible to stop these cast-based crimes. Fourthly , the scenario of law and order condition of any state is proxied by the “Judiciary and Public Safety Score”. A higher value of JPSS indicates improved law and order conditions in any state. This means greater protection for all. By improving law and order conditions the concerned state will be able to provide an appropriate environment for social and economic activities. Accordingly, irrespective of the JPSS status Indian states are recommended to improve their law-and-order conditions. Finally , recognising the positive correlation between “ reported POCSO cases ” and “ urbanisation ” it is patently true that “child protection” is an emergent issue in urban India. In this respect, the local-state-central governments need to work in one line appropriately.

In the present study the pin-pointing of the determinants of the “reported POCSO act” is conducted by considering cross-sectional data. However, such a study can be better understood by considering panel data. Unfortunately, because of the unavailability of such statistics, we cannot pursue this. This can be considered a limitation of the study. However, based on the availability of the data, this extension is a future plan.

Data availability

The present study is based on secondary data. All relevant data are available at free of cost. The data sources are mentioned in the text.

TimesofIndia,15/04/2018

Ali S (2019) Death penalty in POCSO Act imperils child victims of sexual offences. Retrieve from: https://www.indiaspend.com/death-penalty-in-pocso-act-may-imperil-child-victims-of-sexual-offences/ . Accessed 14 May 2020

Bajpai A (2018) Child rights in India: Law, policy, and practice. Oxford University Press

Banerjee A, Dolado J, Galbraith JH, Hendry DF (1993). Co-integration, error-correction, and the econometric analysis of non-stationary data: advanced texts in econometrics. Oxford University Press, Oxford

Barth J, Bermetz L, Heim E, Trelle S, Tonia T (2013) The current prevalence of child sexual abuse worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Pub Health 58(3):469–483

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Becker GS (1968) Crime and punishment: an economic approach. J Polit Econ 76(2):169–217

Article   Google Scholar  

Behere PB, Mulmule AN (2013) Sexual abuse in 8-year-old child: Where do we stand legally? Indian J Psychol Med 35(2):203–205

Bhaumik SK (2015) Principles of econometrics: a modern approach using eviews. OUP Catalogue

Books SW (2016) Regression with Stata. Chapter 2-Regression Diagnostics. UCLA: Academic Technology Services, Statistical Consulting Group. Retrieve from: https://www.coursehero.com Accessed 11 Aug 2016

Bower C (2003) The relationship between child abuse and poverty. Agenda 17(56):84–87

Google Scholar  

Brown RL, Durbin J, Evans JM (1975) Techniques for testing the constancy of regression relationships over time. J Royal Stat Soc: Series B (Methodological) 37(2):149–163

MathSciNet   MATH   Google Scholar  

Bywaters P, Bunting L, Davidson G, Hanratty J, Mason W, McCartan C, Steils N (2016) The relationship between poverty, child abuse and neglect: an evidence review. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York

Chahine EF (2014) Child abuse and its relation to quality of life of male and female children. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 159:161–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.350

Chandramouli C, General R (2011) Census of India. Rural urban distribution of population, provisional population total. Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, New Delhi, India

Children in India-Statistical Information (2022) Retrieve from: https://toybank.in/children-in-india-statistical-information . Accessed 05 Jul 2022

Chiu GR, Lutfey KE, Litman HJ, Link CL, Hall SA, McKinlay JB (2013) Prevalence and overlap of childhood and adult physical, sexual, and emotional abuse: a descriptive analysis of results from the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) survey. Violence Vict 28(3):381–402

Chow GC (1960) Tests of equality between sets of coefficients in two linear regressions. Econ: J Econ Soc 28(3):591–605

Chowdhuri S, Mukhopadhayay P (2016) A study of the socio-demographic profile of the persons accused under POCSO act 2012. Int J Health Res Med Leg Pract 2:50–55

Collin-Vézina D, Daigneault I, Hébert M (2013) Lessons learned from child sexual abuse research: Prevalence, outcomes, and preventive strategies. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 7(1):1–9

Crime in Indian (2018) Statistics, Volume-I. National Crime Record Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs. Government of India, New Delhi. Retrieve from: https://ncrb.gov.in/

Crime in Indian (2019) National Crime Record Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs. Government of India, New Delhi. Retrieve from: https://ncrb.gov.in/

Crime in Indian (2021) National Crime Record Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs. Government of India, New Delhi. Retrieve from: https://ncrb.gov.in/

Debnath A, Roy N (2012) Structural Change and Inter-sectoral Linkages. Econ Polit Week 47(6):73

Díez-Ticio A, Brande´s E (2001) Delincuencia y accio´n policial. Un enfoque econo´mico. Revista Economı´a Aplicada 9(27):5–33

Domínguez JP, Sánchez IMG, Domínguez LR (2015) Relationship between police efficiency and crime rate: a worldwide approach. Eur J Law Econ 39(1):203–223

Downing NR, Akinlotan M, Thornhill CW (2021) The impact of childhood sexual abuse and adverse childhood experiences on adult health related quality of life. Child Abuse Neglect 120:105181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105181

Durbin J (1969) Tests for serial correlation in regression analysis based on the periodogram of least-squares residuals. Biometrika 56(1):1–15

Article   MathSciNet   MATH   Google Scholar  

Ehrlich I (1996) Crime, punishment, and the market for offenses. J Econ Perspect 10(1):43–67

Ehrlich I (1973) Participation in illegitimate activities: A theoretical and empirical investigation. J Pol Econ 81(3):521–565

Fraser JA, Mathews B, Walsh K, Chen L, Dunne M (2010) Factors influencing child abuse and neglect recognition and reporting by nurses: a multivariate analysis. Int J Nurs Stud 47(2):146–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.05.015

Haque MA, Janson S, Moniruzzaman S, Rahman AKM, Islam SS, Mashreky SR, Eriksson UB (2019) Child maltreatment portrayed in Bangladeshi newspapers. Child Abuse Rev. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2606 . https://indianexpress.com/article/india/crime-against-kids-a-third-still-under-pocso-8119689/ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/7-pocso-cases-every-month-90-of-accused-known-to-child/articleshow/63118909.cms

Kanpur UP (2020) The Tribune, November 17. 6-year-old girl found dead in Kanpur was gang-raped; heart, lungs taken out to perform black magic

Kansal I (2016) Child sexual abuse in india: socio-legal issues. Int J Sci Res Sci Technol 2(2):1–4

Kartik KK (2020) The New Indian Express, January, 31. Number of POCSO cases in Karnataka moved up in 2019

Krishnakumar P, Satheesan K, Geeta MG, Sureshkumar K (2014) Prevalence and spectrum of sexual abuse among adolescents in Kerala, South India. Indian J Pediatr 81(8):770–774

Kshirsagar J (2020) POSCO-an effective act of the era. Supremo Amicus 18:428

Maity S (2019) Performance of controlling rape in India: efficiency estimates across states. J Int Women’s Stud 20(7):180–204

Maity S (2022) Escalation of police efficiency diminishes POCSO incidences—myth or reality? Evidence from Indian states. Int J Child Maltreat Res Policy Pract 5(1):155–180

Maity S, Sinha A (2018) Interstate disparity in the performance of controlling crime against women in India: efficiency estimate across states. Int J Educ Econ Dev 9(1):57–79

Miller KL, Dove MK, Miller SM (2007) A counselor’s guide to child sexual abuse: Prevention, reporting and treatment strategies. In: Paper based on a program presented at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, Columbus, OH

Ministry of Women and Child Development (2013) Model Guidelines under Section 39 of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. Retrieve from: https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/POCSO-ModelGuidelines.pdf . Accessed 12 Feb 2020

Moirangthem S, Kumar NC, Math SB (2015) Child sexual abuse: Issues & concerns. Indian J Med Res 142(1):1

Morris MD (1978) A physical quality of life index. Urban Ecol 3(3):225–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4009(78)90015-3

Morris MD (1980) The Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI). Dev Digest 18(1):95

CAS   Google Scholar  

Pallathadka H, Kumar S, Kumar V (2021) A socio-legal analysis of child sexual abuse in India. Des Eng 2021(9):1768–1775

Phillips PC, Perron P (1988) Testing for a unit root in time series regression. Biometrika 75(2):335–346

Poirier DJ, Garber SG (1974) The determinants of aerospace profit rates 1951–1971. South Econ J 41:228–238

Rubin ML, Thelen MH (1996) Factors influencing believing and blaming in reports of child sexual abuse: Survey of a community sample. J Child Sex Abuse 5(2):81–100. https://doi.org/10.1300/J070v05n02_05

Scroll Staff (2020) The Indian Express, August 26. Uttar Pradesh: 17-year-old girl raped, murdered in Lakhimpur Kheri; no arrests so far

Sexton DL Jr., Sobelson B (2018) Examining the connection between poverty and child maltreatment and neglect. September 10, 2018. Retrieve from: https://militaryfamilieslearningnetwork.org . Accessed 18 Dec 2019

Soondas A (2018) The Times of India, April, 15. Kathua rape case: ‘Not just me, the nation lost a daughter’. Retrieve from: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com . Accessed 25 Jun 2018

Staff Reporter, New Delhi (2018) 7 POCSO cases every month, 90% of accused known to child Retrieve from: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/63118909.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst . Accessed 18 Dec 2019

Tamilarasi B, Kanimozhi M, Kumari J (2020) Effectiveness of planned teaching programme on knowledge regarding pocso act among school teachers. TNNMC J Med Surg Nurs 8(1):36–39

UNICEF (2022) Retrieve from: https://www.unicef.org/protection/sexual-violence-against-children . Accessed 28 Jun 2022

vonNeumann J, Morgenstern O (2007) Theory of games and economic behavior. Princeton University Press

Wihbey J (2011) Global prevalence of child sexual abuse. Journal Resour 15(4):25–30

Wooldridge JM (2016) Introductory econometrics: a modern approach. Nelson Education

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Economics, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, India

Shrabanti Maity

Department of French, Assam University, Silchar, Assam, India

Pronobesh Ranjan Chakraborty

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

SM, conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed the statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript; PRC, helped to draft and revised the manuscript. Both the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shrabanti Maity .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

This study does not involve human participants.

Informed consent

Additional information.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Tables 9 , 10 , 11

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Maity, S., Chakraborty, P.R. Implications of the POCSO Act and determinants of child sexual abuse in India: insights at the state level. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10 , 6 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01469-x

Download citation

Received : 30 March 2022

Accepted : 29 November 2022

Published : 03 January 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01469-x

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Ex-assistant principal charged with child neglect in case of boy who shot teacher

The Associated Press

Signs stand outside Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., Jan. 25, 2023. Denise Lavoie/AP hide caption

Signs stand outside Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., Jan. 25, 2023.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A former assistant principal at a Virginia elementary school has been charged with felony child neglect more than a year after a 6-year-old boy brought a gun to class and shot his first-grade teacher .

A special grand jury in Newport News found that Ebony Parker showed a reckless disregard for the lives of Richneck Elementary School students on Jan. 6, 2023, according to indictments unsealed Tuesday.

Parker and other school officials already face a $40 million negligence lawsuit from the teacher who was shot, Abby Zwerner. She accuses Parker and others of ignoring multiple warnings the boy had a gun and was in a "violent mood" the day of the shooting.

Criminal charges against school officials following a school shootings are quite rare, experts say. Parker, 39, faces eight felony counts, each of which is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The Associated Press left a message seeking comment Tuesday with Parker's attorney, Curtis Rogers.

Shots - Health News

'say something' tip line in schools flags gun violence threats, study finds.

Court documents filed Tuesday reveal little about the criminal case against Parker, listing only the counts and a description of the felony charge. It alleges that Parker "did commit a willful act or omission in the care of such students, in a manner so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life."

Newport News police have said the student who shot Zwerner retrieved his mother's handgun from atop a dresser at home and brought the weapon to school concealed in a backpack.

Zwerner's lawsuit describes a series of warnings that school employees gave administrators before the shooting. The lawsuit said those warnings began with Zwerner telling Parker that the boy "was in a violent mood," had threatened to beat up a kindergartener and stared down a security officer in the lunchroom.

The lawsuit alleges that Parker "had no response, refusing even to look up" when Zwerner expressed her concerns.

When concerns were raised that the child may have transferred the gun from his backpack to his pocket, Parker said his "pockets were too small to hold a handgun and did nothing," the lawsuit states.

Architecture

With gun control far from sight, schools redesign for student safety.

A guidance counselor also asked Parker for permission to search the boy, but Parker forbade him, "and stated that John Doe's mother would be arriving soon to pick him up," the lawsuit stated.

Zwerner was sitting at a reading table in front of the class when the boy fired the gun, police said. The bullet struck Zwerner's hand and then her chest, collapsing one of her lungs. She spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and has endured multiple surgeries as well as ongoing emotional trauma, according to her lawsuit.

Parker and the lawsuit's other defendants, which include a former superintendent and the Newport News school board, have tried to block Zwerner's lawsuit.

They've argued that Zwerner's injuries fall under Virginia's workers' compensation law. Their arguments have been unsuccessful so far in blocking the litigation. A trial date for Zwerner's lawsuit is slated for January.

Prosecutors had said a year ago that they were investigating whether the "actions or omissions" of any school employees could lead to criminal charges.

What schools can (and can't) do to prevent school shootings

Howard Gwynn, the commonwealth's attorney in Newport News, said in April 2023 that he had petitioned a special grand jury to probe if any "security failures" contributed to the shooting. Gwynn wrote that an investigation could also lead to recommendations "in the hopes that such a situation never occurs again."

It is not the first school shooting to spark a criminal investigation into school officials. For instance, a former school resource officer was acquitted of all charges last year after he was accused of hiding during the Parkland school massacre in 2018.

Chuck Vergon, a professor of educational law and policy at the University of Michigan-Flint, told The AP last year that it is rare for a teacher or school official to be charged in a school shooting because allegations of criminal negligence can be difficult to prove.

More often, he said, those impacted by school shootings seek to hold school officials liable in civil court.

• elementary school