Most of the street-based children are not educated beyond primary school and their living conditions are based on begging and doing odd jobs in the market and streets. Forty-six percent of the on-the-street children live with one parent, and 97 percent of the of-the-street children have lost contact with their parents. The on-the-street children have a higher percentage of family sector networks than the of-the-street children and the shelter or institutionalized children. Generally, school children still have strong family ties.

Purpose. To describe trends in the personal social network characteristics of the fibromyalgia patients compared with the network of patients with another chronic disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. A structured interview was applied to 10 fibromyalgia patients and 30 matched R A patients. Results. The networks of the 10 fibromyalgia and 10 R A patients were comparable in most respects, namely: the small number of intimate friends, the reliance for support on the spouse and the physician, and the relative lack of new social contacts. Furthermore, the fibromyalgia networks were closed networks within a small geographic area. These networks lacked initiative to establish and maintain relations, and can hardly fulfill the patients' psychosocial needs. Conclusion.Based on small numbers, the study provides some evidence that social networks of patients with fibromyalgia are more restricted than those of R A patients. Further studies should include larger numbers of patients to clarify cause and effect relationships and to suggest new directions in the treatment of chronic disorders such as fibromyalgia.

Objective. To assess structural social network characteristics and perceived loneliness in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS)