Psychological well‐being of orphans in Dar El Salaam, Tanzania

Dados Bibliográficos

ID23380970
AutoresV Makame (Institute of Child Health), Cornelius Ani (0000-0003-0050-7939, Institute of Child Health), S M Grantham‐McGregor (Institute of Child Health, autor correspondente), S Grantham‐McGregor
Ano2002
Volume91
Fascículo4
Páginas459-465
Data de publicação2002-04-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoActa Paediatrica (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0803-5253 • E-ISSN: 1651-2227
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1651-2227.2002.tb01671.x
OpenAlexW4238525387
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas86
Referências citadas13

Forty‐one orphans whose fathers and/or mothers had died from AIDS, and were living in the poor suburbs of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, were compared with 41 matched non‐orphans from the same neighbourhoods. The subjects were given an arithmetic test and a semi‐structured questionnaire concerning any internalizing problems, their attendance at school and their experiences of punishment, reward and hunger. The scale of internalizing problems comprised 21 items adapted from the Rand Mental Health and Beck Depression Inventories concerning mood, pessimism, somatic symptoms, sense of failure, anxiety, positive affect and emotional ties. Most orphans lived with aunts and uncles. Compared with non‐orphans, they were significantly less likely to be in school but those who did attend school had similar arithmetic scores. Significantly more orphans went to bed hungry. Orphans had markedly increased internalizing problems compared with non‐orphans ( p Conclusion : The orphans not only had unmet basic needs, but also had markedly increased internalizing problems, thus their long‐term mental health would be in jeopardy. There is an urgent need to expand and improve current intervention programmes not only to meet the basic needs but also to include psychosocial support, counselling services for the orphans, and training for their carers and teachers.

Anxiety · Attendance · Depression (economics) · Mental health · Mood · Psychiatry · Psychosocial · Tanzania · Clinical Psychology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare