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research-article2018
ISW0010.1177/0020872818810382International Social WorkManful and Abdullah

Article i s w

International Social Work

2021, Vol. 64(3) 341­–353
Conceptualisation of child © The Author(s) 2018
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neglect: A Ghanaian sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0020872818810382
https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872818810382
practice narrative journals.sagepub.com/home/isw

Esmeranda Manful
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Alhassan Abdullah
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Abstract
Child neglect incidents are the most frequent cases reported to the Department of Social Welfare
in Ghana. Therefore, an effective approach to inform practice decisions to curb the numbers is
of great importance. Using a qualitative research design, 28 Practitioners’ and parents’ narratives
on the perception and causes of child neglect were explored. The study revealed that there is a
convergence and divergence of views on how child neglect is conceptualised. The findings suggest
the need for practitioners to intensify awareness on some of Ghana’s cultural practices, such as
inheritance expectations, that hinder better outcomes for children.

Keywords
Child neglect, child welfare, Ghana, parenting, Practitioners

Introduction
Child neglect is a parenting issue; however, parenting is a practice that more often than not is taken
for granted in Ghana (Nukunya, 2016). This is more so due to economic circumstances and struc-
tural factors making the measurement of good parenting challenging. Dickens (2007) contends that
the difficulty in measuring or contextualising what is considered as ‘good parenting’ influences the
intervention of child neglect issues, since the identification of child neglect is considered as the
foundation of government or child protection workers’ intervention. Although a standardised
threshold for intervening in child neglect issues is contested in some countries (Dickens, 2007;
O’Donnell et al., 2008; Platt and Turney, 2014), Ghana’s Children’s Act stipulates that action has
to be taken once an issue is reported. As mandatory and primary reporters of child neglect in
Ghana, it is imperative to explore parents’ conceptualisation of neglect since their understanding

Corresponding author:
Alhassan Abdullah, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,
Kumasi-Ghana +233, Private Mail Bag, University Post Office, Ghana.
Email: abdullahalhassan14@gmail.com
342 International Social Work 64(3)

will influence their reporting of such issues to child welfare authorities for support (Delong-
Hamilton et al., 2016). Therefore, this suggests that there will be a consensus regarding what is
described as child neglect from the perspectives of parents and child welfare professionals (herein
after Practitioners) to aid child protection practice and ensure better outcomes for children.
Yet the multidimensional nature of child neglect and the limited empirical evidence to substanti-
ate the occurrence of neglect have been identified as major factors hindering the attainment of a
consensual definition (Allin et al., 2005; Dubowitz et al., 2004; Mennen et al., 2010; Stoltenborgh
et al., 2013). This is further compounded by the fact that neglect is influenced by cultural, eco-
nomic and social factors (Delong-Hamilton et al., 2016; Lonne, 2015). The lack of consensus for
its definition is likely to impact children who are in need of protection as Practitioners, parents and
caregivers might have a different understanding of what constitutes child neglect. Therefore, it is
imperative to understand what parents perceive as the threshold of parenting failure. However, in
the discourse there is little information on how parents who are in contact with social services
conceptualise neglect, specifically in Africa (Laird, 2016a). The aim of this study was to explore
whether there was divergence or convergence on the views of child neglect from Practitioners and
parents seeking services from the regional Department of Social Welfare (herein after Department)
in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana, West Africa. The two main research questions were as
follows: ‘How do parents and Practitioners perceive child neglect?’ and ‘What do these two stake-
holders deem to be the causes of child neglect?

Child neglect in Sub-Saharan Africa

Generally, issues of child neglect are not treated as a distinct area of maltreatment in Ghana and
Africa at large, due to the lack of evidence and insidious nature of its effects (Laird, 2016b).
Although child neglect was identified as the most reported incident of maltreatment in some
African countries, including Uganda and Kenya (African Network for the Prevention and Protection
against Child Abuse and Neglect [ANPPCAN]-Uganda, 2012), the concept failed to emerge as a
central issue of child protection in Ghana. Often child maltreatment studies in Ghana focus on
physical and sexual abuse rather than neglect (Kassah et al., 2012; Sossou & Yogtiba, 2009). Laird
(2016a) argues that the lack of recognition of child neglect in Africa stemmed from the adoption of
Anglophone and Eurocentric child welfare policies. Yet the operationalisation of child welfare
policies provides the threshold towards addressing child neglect in Africa (Laird, 2016b). Also, an
assessment of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) revealed
poorly resourced law enforcement agencies, and exclusion of key informants and stakeholders as
major concerns hindering the operationalisation and domestication of the CRC and other child
welfare policies in Ghana (UNICEF, 2008).

Child neglect: A constructed definition

Even though consensus has not been achieved regarding the definition of child neglect, various
scholars and policy makers have stated definitions congruent with their culture and context of
practice (Delong-Hamilton et al., 2016; Dubowitz, 2012; Moran, 2009). Major definitions pro-
vided by researchers have centred on parental omissions in care, failure to provide for children’s
basic needs, and child malfunctioning (Delong-Hamilton et al., 2016; Dubowitz et al., 2000). The
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2013) defined child neglect as the inability of a
parent to provide for a child’s basic needs resulting in the potential harm of a child. This definition
can be criticised on the grounds that it has a narrow focus as it attributes neglect to only parents’ or
caregivers’ inabilities. Yet their definition has enunciated the ramifications of parental neglect on
Manful and Abdullah 343

children’s health and physical development, which suggests that neglect precipitates other forms of
maltreatment (Scott et al., 2012). To address the gap in the definition by the US Department of
Health and Human Services, DePanfilis (2006) defined child neglect as ‘any recent act or failure
to act on the part of a parent or caregiver which results in death, serious physical or emotional
harm, sexual abuse or exploitation’ or as ‘an act or failure to act which presents eminent risk of
serious harm’ (p. 9). A strength in this definition is the inculcation of the interconnected and inter-
related nature of the forms of maltreatment including emotional, physical and sexual maltreatment,
which shows how the types of neglect manifest in the conceptualisation (Scott, 2014).
Furthermore, Hua et al. (2014) defined child neglect as failure of a parent or caregiver to meet
the basic needs of the child, which poses a major threat to the child’s health, growth and well-
being. Hua et al.’s (2014) definition has strengthened the role of the caregiver in issues of neglect,
although their definition was limited to the health implications resulting from parents, and caregiv-
ers’ actions. The inclusion of caregivers in the definition widens the scope of the concept and instils
a sense of urgency to anyone providing either respite or permanent care for a child, since their
actions and inactions at any particular moment has the potential to precipitate neglect.
Practitioners and key informants in a Guatemalan study defined child neglect as ‘a complex
social phenomenon combining parental omission of care and an indifferent attitude toward the
child compounded by governmental neglect’ (Coope and Theobald, 2006: 532). Though Coope
and Theobald’s (2006) work is challenged on the grounds of contextual differences, it shifts from
a notion that blames parents as the primary cause of neglect to blaming state institutions. Dubowitz
(2013) argued that putting the blame for child neglect on the government widens the source of sup-
port needed to prevent issues of neglect, rather than blaming parents alone, which can limit the
source of support for children. Rightly so, as the onus is put on all states that have ratified the CRC
to protect children from abuse and neglect (Manful and Manful, 2010). These notwithstanding, the
definitions provided from different continents points to the argument that child neglect is socially
constructed (Horwath, 2007; Lonne, 2015).

Causes of child neglect

Child neglect is caused by both individual and social factors (DePanfilis, 2006), suggesting the
urgent need for Practitioners to consider these factors in order to develop relevant preventive inter-
ventions (Munro et al., 2014). DePanfilis (2006) identified child behaviour, caregiver’s mental or
physical health problems, impaired caregiver–child relationship, substance abuse, family conflict,
social isolation and stress as possible risk factors that precede neglect. Essentially, occurrence of
these predisposing factors results in families shirking their responsibilities towards their children.
Evidence from literature identified poverty and lack of social support as key predisposing factors
for child neglect (Jutte et al., 2014; William, 2017).
According to Laird (2016a), parents experiencing hardship and poverty situations are com-
pelled to deny their children their basic needs. Yet the National Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) reported that parents with low-income status in the UK and the US
do not neglect their children, rather, that neglect depicts family dysfunction and not essentially
economic circumstances (Horwath, 2007). However, the NSPCC’s report is limited in that the level
of economic development in advanced countries like the US and the UK makes it difficult to gen-
eralise their findings to a developing country such as Ghana, which has a gross national income per
capita of 1813.80 US$ (Ghana Statistical Service, 2018). Nevertheless, the study’s description of
family dysfunction as a possible predisposing factor for neglect seems compatible with the
Ghanaian context due to the high rate of divorce in Ghana, which suggests an instance of family
dysfunctionality (Caarls and Mazzucato, 2015; Takyi and Gyimah, 2007).
344 International Social Work 64(3)

Study design
Study area and setting
The study was conducted in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region, the most densely populated
region in Ghana (Ghana Statistical Service, 2014). The city has a population of about 2,035,065
people, living in 119 different communities (Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, 2014). Due to the
population density in the city coupled with the effects of urbanisation and poverty, it has been
argued that issues of child neglect are commonplace in the city (Akuoko et al., 2013). Population
density is a common characteristic of regional capitals in Ghana, therefore Kumasi was deemed to
be a good representation. Also, Kumasi was purposively selected due to the researchers’ proximity
to the Department, which facilitated engagement with parents at short notice.
The state agency responsible for child welfare in Ghana is the Department of Social Welfare.
The Department’s activities are structured around three core programmes, namely Community
Care, Child Rights, Promotion and Protection (CRPP), and Justice Administration. The major
cases handled by the Department include but are not limited to child maintenance, custody, pater-
nity, access, family welfare and abandonment cases, which all have a bearing on child neglect
(Child and Family Welfare Policy, 2014; Department of Social Welfare, 2015).
Most issues related to neglect reported to the Department are handled as child maintenance or
child welfare and custody cases (Child and Family Welfare Policy, 2014). Child maintenance or
child welfare cases focus on financial issues, where often the father is deemed not to be providing
money for food, shelter and accommodation or payment of children’s school fees (Manful and
Cudjoe, 2018; Cudjoe and Abdullah, 2018), whereas custody cases involve instances whereby
either parent seeks legal right for the care and protection of a child. Practitioners at the Department
also conduct counselling sessions, and sometimes home visits, to aid in resolving cases reported to
them. Unfortunately records are not kept on the average counselling sessions held for each case.
During the process of conducting this study, 15 counselling sessions were witnessed in a week.

Criteria for selection of research participants

Research participants for this study were in two categories, Practitioners and parents. The
researchers purposively selected Practitioners who were trained social workers with more than 6
months’ practice experience in the Department. The 6 months practice experience was required
to ensure that the Practitioners had worked with families involved with child neglect cases to
enable them to share their experiences on the topic. Consequently, nine Practitioners met the
study criteria out of a total of 16 Practitioners identified at the Department at the time of the
study. The criteria for selecting parents were that they should have case records related to child
maintenance, child custody, abandonment or access. Also, in line with the definition of a child
enshrined in Ghana’s Children’s Act 1998 (Act 560), parents with children above 18 years were
not selected for the study. Out of the 45 case sessions witnessed by the researchers at the
Department for the period from February to March 2017, 19 parents who met the criteria of the
study volunteered to participate.

Ethical consideration
Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Regional Director of the Department. Prior to
the interviews, research participants were assured that information provided to the researchers
would be confidential. Specifically, informed consent and confidentiality were accorded to all
Manful and Abdullah 345

research participants. In line with Silverman (2013), a thorough explanation was given to the par-
ticipants concerning the ethical issue of voluntary participation. Hence, researchers explained to
participants their right to withdraw from the study at any point in time due to reasons deemed
personal to them.

Data collection
In-depth interviews, using a semi-structured interview guide, were conducted with the 19 parents
and 9 Practitioners from February to March 2017. The interviews were conducted in the counsel-
ling room of the Department, which was convenient for all the participants. On average, each
interview lasted 30 minutes. Interviews with the Practitioners were conducted in the English lan-
guage, whereas interviews with parents were conducted in Twi, the predominant language spoken
in Kumasi. The decision on the choice of language was made by participants individually. The
researchers did not have any challenge with the choice of language since they are knowledgeable
and fluent in both languages. To ensure that important information from the interview was not
missed (Silverman, 2013), all interviews were audio recorded with participants’ consent.

Limitation
One of the main limitations of this study was the venue of the interviews with parents in contact with
the Department. Interview sessions with the parents were held in one of the offices of the Department
and not in their homes. Although this ensured their privacy and confidentiality, it meant they had to
incur additional cost as they had to come from their homes to participate in the study.

Data analysis
The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed into ‘Microsoft Word 16’ document and the tran-
scribed data were checked along with the audios for accuracy. Words that were in the Twi language
were translated into English. Pseudonyms were used in cases where participants mentioned names
of persons or places which could be used to reveal their identity. The study used thematic analysis
due to its compatibility with studies adopting the constructionist approach (Braun and Clarke,
2006). First, the transcribed data were read and re-read by the researchers to fully understand data.
Initial themes emerged following the researchers’ familiarity with the data. Codes including
‘responsibility’, ‘care’, ‘no food’ and ‘divorce’ were found. Furthermore, the different codes were
collated into potential themes and these were refined to ensure that they addressed the research
questions. The themes were then organised and refined to ensure internal consistency. Some themes
reflected similar ideas, and thus were merged into each other. The NVivo 11 qualitative software
was used to manage the transcribed data.

Ensuring qualitative rigour

To avert the possibility of biases, data triangulation by the observer method (Leitz and Zayas, 2010)
was adopted, and findings from the data were analysed independently by each member of the research
team. To ensure credibility of the findings, the study adopted the strategy of member checking.
Member checking involves confirming the study findings by seeking feedback from research partici-
pants (Padgett, 2008; Shenton, 2004). To this effect, the transcribed data and findings were presented
to two Practitioners and four parents for their corroboration of the findings in April 2017.
346 International Social Work 64(3)

Demographics of research participants

Below is a description of the research participants’ demography.

Practitioners. The Practitioners comprised four males and five females who were within the ages of
26 and 41. The Practitioner with the highest work experience had 17 years in practice, with the
lowest having 7 months. However, the majority of the Practitioners had more than 3 years’ practice
experience at the time of data collection, suggesting a vast experience in working with neglect
cases. Furthermore, eight of the nine Practitioners had a degree or diploma in social work, and one
had a degree in disability and rehabilitation studies.

Parents. The parents, comprising 15 females and 4 males, were between the ages of 24 and 49
years. The majority of the parents did not have a higher educational qualification. A total of 15
parents had cases related to child maintenance, while 4 had cases involving child custody.
These data confirm the report by the Child and Family Welfare Policy (2014) that most neglect
issues are related to child maintenance and custody. The parents interviewed had an average of
three children per family, which suggests a high tendency of giving birth considering their
youthful ages.

Findings
Perception of child neglect
The study sought to explore parents’ and Practitioners’ perceptions of what constitutes child
neglect. Evidence from the data revealed inability to provide for child basic needs, shirking of
parental responsibilities, abandonment and lack of emotional support as the dominant themes.
However, parents’ opinions were specific to situations they described as failure to provide for chil-
dren’s basic needs, shirking of parental responsibility and lack of emotional support, while
Practitioners shared a more comprehensive opinion on their description of child neglect to include
all four main themes identified.

Child neglect as inability to provide basic necessities. Participants who described child neglect to be
instances of parents’ failure to provide the basic needs of their children argued that parents or care-
givers are mandated by law and social norms to provide certain basic needs for their children and
that their inability to provide these will predispose their children to significant harm and distress.
Research participants’ definition of basic needs included education, health, clothing, shelter and
food. According to the research participants, these needs are instrumental to children’s develop-
ment, and as a result, parents’ failure to provide them can cause significant harm to the child. A
Practitioner explained:

Child neglect is where a parent taking care of a child is not able to cater for a child in terms of feeding,
education and clothing. In fact all the basic necessities of life which may affect the child in the future.
(Practitioner)

Another practitioner broadened his definition by focusing on failure to provide children’s basic
needs by anyone in the caregiving role. He stated:

I will describe child neglect as, a child who does not have any access to basic child’s needs; education,
shelter, food, and adequate clothing due to negligence by the caregiver. (Practitioner)
Manful and Abdullah 347

The evidence from the data suggests that child neglect is not limited to parental actions and
inactions; rather, it applies to anyone in the position of taking care of a child. The Practitioners’
views were also re-echoed by a parent, who said:

Neglect is when a caregiver or parent fails to provide the basic needs for a child. (Father)

However, fathers were mainly blamed for the failure to provide for a child’s basic needs. One
parent stated:

I will describe child neglect to be instances where parents specifically fathers fail to provide the basic
necessities of life to their children such as clothing, food, sending the child to school and hospital when
needed. (Mother)

Child neglect as shirking of responsibilities. Another finding that emerged from the narratives of the
participants was child neglect being described as instances of parents shirking their responsibili-
ties. Participants who held this view argued that parents have moral responsibilities towards their
children. This means that their inability to meet such expectations constitutes child neglect. This
was argued by a Practitioner:

I will say neglect is when both parents have totally abdicated their responsibility which is mandated of
them by the society and leave the child to fend for him or herself. (Practitioner)

In addition, a Practitioner emphasised the legal definition of parental responsibility. According

to him Ghana’s Children’s Act (560) states the responsibilities expected of parents towards their
children. As a result, parents who shirk their responsibilities commit an offence. This was how he
expressed it:

In this case when you consider the law it states emphatically the rights and responsibility of a parent
toward their children. So if you are a parent and you abdicate your responsibility toward your child you
have neglected the child. As a result, parents who abdicate their responsibilities commit an offence, since
it is spelled out in the legal regulations on children. (Practitioner)

Among parents who participated in the study, the mothers blamed men for the shirking of paren-
tal responsibilities. A mother had this to say:

For me child neglect is when parents especially fathers fail to perform their responsibilities as fathers and
head of the family. (Mother)

However, men’s description of the shirking of parental responsibilities was specific to both
parents and anyone in the caregiving role:

. . . Child neglect is when either parents or a caregiver fails to perform his or her responsibilities towards
a child. (Father)

Essentially, the gender expectation of this argument signifies the context and cultural-specific
nature of the current study, suggesting that, indeed, the conceptualisation of child neglect is also
culturally motivated.

Child neglect as child abandonment. Furthermore, the findings revealed that some participants
described child neglect to be instances of child abandonment. However, it must be noted that this
348 International Social Work 64(3)

narrative was shared only by Practitioners in this study. They described child neglect to be situa-
tions where a child is abandoned by his or her parents or caregivers. According to them, neglected
children are usually found hawking on the street and engaging in several deviant activities because
they have been abandoned by their caregivers. One Practitioner argued:

Such a child can be found on the street or be found begging for alms (gift) or doing other hazardous labour
(dangerous work) to fend for him or herself. It can be prostitution, it can be hawking on the street and
others. But if the child is in the custody of one parent, at least the other parent can also assist the child, in
that case you cannot classify it as child neglect. (Practitioner)

This implies that child neglect was also perceived by Practitioners to include street children and
hawkers as they engaged in such activities without the awareness or supervision of their caregivers.

Child neglect as lack of emotional support. Finally, some of the research participants described child
neglect as instances in which parents fail to provide emotional support for their children. One Prac-
titioner stated:

Child neglect is when you fail to care about the emotions of your child, such as embarrassing the child in
public or insulting him/her. (Practitioner)

Another Practitioner described child neglect to be instances in which a child is denied affection,
love and attention from their parents. This was how a Practitioner elucidated:

I understand child neglect in terms of emotional neglect where parents fail to provide the needed emotional
care to their children such as not showing affection and not embracing the child in public when needed.
Though these instances are difficult to recognise by parents. (Practitioner)

Furthermore, one parent attributed these behaviours to uneducated parents who are unaware of
the consequences of emotional neglect. She stated:

Neglect can also be when you fail to show love, care and affection to your children when needed. But the
sad thing is that most illiterate parents do not know the effect of this. (Mother)

Causes and predisposing factors of child neglect

Poverty. Findings from the interview data revealed that economic factors, specifically poverty and
unemployment, predispose parents to neglect their children. A significant number of the Practition-
ers indicated that parents are forced to shirk their responsibilities in instances of poor economic
conditions. An explanation was given by one Practitioner, who focused on the effects of income
poverty as a major economic factor causing neglect. She argued:

If a parent finds it difficult to provide for the family the child involved is going to suffer from other
dimensions of poverty such as, lack of proper health, education, good standard of living and other things.
Such a parent who does not have the money to support such a child can abdicate his or her responsibility
when it comes to the maintenance of the child. (Practitioner)

Another Practitioner added:

Poverty and unemployment are the main causes. Parents wish to take care of their children but because
they have no jobs they tend to neglect them unwillingly. (Practitioner)
Manful and Abdullah 349

Although many of the parents shared similar views to those of the Practitioners, some of the
fathers attributed their poverty situation to laziness and unsupportive partners who felt that child
upbringing is the sole responsibility of fathers. One father’s view sums up the assertion:

One factor is financial issues. My case for instance, the woman is not helpful and has never helped me in
my life. She has never worked and she has never paid for the fees of the children. She has never bought any
cloth or dress for the children. I do everything, so when I face a challenge then the children suffer. (Father)

Research participants’ descriptions of poverty as a cause of child neglect shows an interconnec-

tion between poverty and other causes of child neglect identified in the literature.

Belief in matrilineal inheritance. Another factor that emerged from the interview data was the influ-
ence of traditional lineage. A considerable number of the participants opined that the traditional
beliefs surrounding inheritance contribute to incidences of child neglect in Kumasi. As a result of
adherence to the matrilineal inheritance of Asantes (the predominant ethnic group in the study area),
fathers shirk their responsibilities with the assumption that even if they take care of their children, it
will be of no benefit to them. A Practitioner’s comment highlights the shared opinions:

One major cause of child neglect in Ashanti region is the matrilineal inheritance system, the fathers think
even if they provide for the child, he wouldn’t get direct benefit as the child will return to the mother’s
family. So, it makes the men reluctant to cater for their children. (Practitioner)

Akin to the views of the Practitioners, some fathers who were quizzed on this perception vehe-
mently denied that the matrilineal inheritance system informs their decisions to shirk their
responsibilities:

No no, personally I don’t think about that, why will I deny my children their basic needs on the premise
that they won’t inherit along my lineage. (Father)

Family disruption. Finally, incidence of divorce or separation was identified as a causal factor for
child neglect in Kumasi. Evidence from the socio-demographic data of participants revealed that
the majority of the participants were cohabitants; their relationship had not been formalised legally
or culturally. As a result, such relationships break down easily due to the lack of formal commit-
ment. Consequently, most fathers after separation vent their anger on the children as a way of
punishing the divorced partners. This was how a Practitioner described the situation:

Broken homes, at times parents don’t marry and they give birth, sometimes they don’t know themselves
that much then they give birth. After some weeks the man is nowhere to be found. At times, too they are
married but have divorced. Because of the pain they go through, especially the men, they turn it to the
children. And they want the mother and the children to suffer. (Practitioner)

A parent also argued that the situation worsens when the male partner remarries. She stated:

. . . When they (men) re-marry they often fail to cater for the children they had in their previous relationships.
(Mother)

Discussion
The themes that emerged from the interview data revealed that there is a convergence of views on
what constitutes child neglect for both Practitioners and parents, specifically on child neglect being
350 International Social Work 64(3)

described as parents’ or caregivers’ failure to provide for a child’s basic needs, lack of emotional
support and shirking of parental responsibilities. The definition of child neglect as failure to pro-
vide for a child’s basic needs and shirking of parental responsibilities expressed by the Practitioners
and parents corroborate with the definition by the US Department of Health and Human Services
(2013). However, the Practitioners’ perceptions differed from those of the parents. Whereas the
Practitioners focused on both male and female parents’ failure to provide a child’s basic needs, the
mothers, on the other hand, blamed only fathers. The blaming attitude exhibited by the mothers on
parental irresponsibility indicate the influence of traditional norms on parental role in child rearing
(Nukunya, 2016) as well as the impact of role conflict and role expectation on parenting and child
upbringing. However, the arguments made by the fathers suggest that the traditional notion of the
expected role of men as breadwinners and women solely performing caring responsibilities and
household chores are dwindling. This suggests that modern society requires a collective effort from
both parents in taking care of a child (Delong-Hamilton et al., 2016; Lonne, 2015). Also, the sug-
gestion that child neglect is contrary to the laws of Ghana shows that Ghanaian Practitioners adhere
and practice in accordance with international and national legislation such as the CRC, as well as
the Children’s Act (Act 560) of Ghana.
Furthermore, the view that child neglect is an indication of child abandonment supports the
argument made by Lonne (2015) in his Australian study. However, his description of child aban-
donment differs from the narrative by participants in this study highlighting contextual differences.
Whereas he focuses on children looked after by inappropriate caregivers for lengthy periods, par-
ticipants of this study extended on his position by arguing that abandonment also includes ostra-
cised children and children being allowed to work and fend for themselves without adult supervision
or protection.
Stoltenborgh et al.’s (2013) research on the effects of emotional neglect on children notes that
emotional neglect has an impact on children’s psychological wellbeing, social development and
future attachment relationships. The study findings suggest that parents unconsciously neglect their
children by failing to show needed emotional support. It appeared that many of the parents who
participated in this study were unaware of the negative effects of such actions and inactions on chil-
dren; this could be attributed to their low level of education. This corroborates the assertion by Hua
et al. (2014) that emotional neglect is mostly experienced by children born to illiterate parents.
However, there were more divergent views on what causes child neglect based on the narratives
of the research participants. The findings revealed that both Practitioners and parents identified
poverty as a major cause of neglect. The argument indicates that efforts to minimise situations of
child neglect in Ghana should focus on poverty alleviation, since poverty is interconnected with
child neglect (William, 2017). Yet while the Practitioners focused on the consequences of unem-
ployment on parents’ inability to care for their children, parents on the other hand chose to blame
each other for the poverty situations of the family.
In line with the traditional family roles, mothers in this study argued that men are supposed to
be the breadwinners of the family and therefore the onus lies on men to find every means to fend
for the family (Kuyini et al., 2009). However, fathers held a contrary view to this, by arguing that
child care is the responsibility of both parents. Even though they agreed that the greater responsi-
bility lies with the men, they did not agree with the idea that mothers are not required to be sup-
portive as posited by some mothers in the study. The fathers’ perception suggests that problems
with child care require collective and societal efforts (Munro et al., 2014) because economic fac-
tors exert influence on parents’ ability to care for their children (Dickens, 2007; Laird, 2016b).
Therefore, while the men in this study viewed child care as a collective responsibility, the women
viewed it as a responsibility of men based on traditionally expected roles of men and women in
Ghana (Kuyini et al., 2009; Nukunya, 1992). This implies that there is lack of consensus on
Manful and Abdullah 351

expected gender roles and responsibilities of parents concerning child care, considering the diver-
gent views of the parents in this study.
Furthermore, the study findings suggest that cultural inheritance influences families’ care for
children in the study area. In line with the suggestion by Nukunya (2016), many parents in this
study care for children with the expectation that the children will reciprocate in adulthood as
dictated by social norms, an indication that some parents still perceived children as objects via
which they could derive economic benefits, instead of seeing the need to nurture them. Although
this practice is more evident among Asantes, evidence has shown that the notion of caring for
children with a future reciprocal expectation is not valued among patrilineal societies such as
the Ga Adagme in the Greater Accra Region, as well as the Krobo and Ewes in the Eastern and
Volta Region, respectively (Nukunya, 2016). The views of most Asante fathers on child care
may be contentious among cultures with cognatic or bilateral descent and inheritance. Yet a
unique identification of this factor shows the influence of culture and socialisation on child
neglect (Laird, 2016a; Lonne, 2015). Consideration of these cultural perceptions will help
Practitioners in Ghana include inheritance practices in advocacy programmes to ensure better
outcomes for children.

Conclusion
This study has expanded on the narrative of child neglect by exploring the perspectives of both
parents and Practitioners on the conceptualisation of child neglect, departing from the traditional
ways of solely focusing on professionals when discussing issues of child neglect. Based on the
divergence of views expressed by parents and Practitioners on the causes of child neglect, educa-
tional programmes have to be planned by Practitioners of the Department of Social Welfare to
create awareness of some of Ghana’s cultural practices and perceptions, such as inheritance line-
age, that might hinder better outcomes for children. Considering the influential roles played by
traditional rulers, it is suggested that Practitioners should conduct these education programmes in
collaboration with them. Specifically, the educational programme should consider sensitising par-
ents to the essence of inheritance to prevent its adverse effects on the care of children. Furthermore,
findings from the study suggest that poverty, child neglect and gendered care are interconnected.
Therefore, parents and carers also need to be made aware through educational programmes that
focus on changes in the gender role expectations, in the 21st century, where financial provision and
caring for children are shared responsibilities between both parents.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs
Esmeranda Manful https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6346-289X
Alhassan Abdullah https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5381-5340

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Author biographies
Esmeranda Manful is a Senior Lecturer whose research interests are on the policy and practice implications of
social welfare issues, with a focus on children.
Alhassan Abdullah is a research student with interests and publications in child welfare issues, alternative care,
child neglect and participation in child protection practices.