Development, Social-Emotional Behavior and Resilience of Orphaned Children in a Family-Oriented Setting

Abstract


SOS children’s villages take care of orphaned or abandoned children who are likely to suffer from multiple psychosocial problems. Nevertheless, much is not known about the developmental, social-emotional, nutritional and resilience status of young SOS children (SOSc) living in poor settings of developing countries such as Ethiopia. The present study examined the developmental, social-emotional, nutritional and resilience status of SOSc in Jimma town of Ethiopia. In total, we selected 62 children (3.5–71.8 months of age; 32 boys and 30 girls) and tested for their personal-social, language, fine and gross motor development with the culturally adapted and standardized developmental screening tool, Denver II-Jimma; and their social-emotional behavior with the ages and stages questionnaire: social-emotional (ASQ:SE). We compared their outcomes to 62 age- and sex- matched family-reared children. To estimate the nutritional status of all children, we followed the WHO child growth standards. We used an interview guide to investigate resilience of the children. SOSc performed significantly poorer on language (p < 0.001, effect size (es) = 0.957), gross motor (p < 0.001, es = 0.879) and social-emotional (p < 0.001, es = 1.220) outcomes. Twenty-two (35.5%) of SOSc were undernourished and 17 (77.30%) of them were stunted. SOSc demonstrated resilient behavior, and child, SOS family and community characteristics were the major protective factors which enabled them to thrive in spite of the loss of their parents. Early intervention focusing on language, gross motor and social-emotional skills may be particularly beneficial to support children in SOS villages.



Other articles

Caring for the orphan in the Philippines: A Policy-Capacity review

Using synthesis and an integrative approach, the article analyzes laws, policies, and institutions that protect the rights…

Read more

SOCIOCULTURAL METRICS OF THE PERSONAL PARADIGM OF ORPHANS’ UPBRINGING IN PEDAGOGICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE OF UKRAINE

The purpose of the article is to outline and analyze the sociocultural metrics of paradigm of orphans’ upbringing in Ukraine.…

Read more

The role of culture in psychosocial development of orphans and vulnerable children

Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) remain a pressing challenge for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa due to HIV/AIDS.…

Read more

Alternative care options and social protection policy choices to support orphans and vulnerable children : a comparative study of Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau

The number of orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa reached 51,900,000 in 2013. There has been limited research, particularly in…

Read more