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Socio-economic Status and Socio-emotional Health of Orphans in South Africa

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Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between socio-economic status and emotional well-being of orphans in Mangaung, South Africa. Five hundred orphans aged 7–11 years participated in the cross-sectional study between 2009 and 2012. Data was collected by trained fieldworkers, who conducted face-to-face interviews and questionnaires with the orphans, their teachers and caregivers, and the heads of the households where the orphans resided. The caregivers, children and teachers all completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in order to measure the orphans’ mental health, while heads of household provided information about socio-economic indicators. STATA version 12 was used to perform multivariate data analyses to identify socio-economic factors associated with the mental health of orphans. Food security, access to medical services and a male caregiver were factors associated with better emotional well-being of orphans, whereas other variables such as household asset index and monthly household expenditure were not linked with the orphans’ mental health. Two of the three variables (food security and access to medical services) associated with better emotional well-being of orphans are also government interventions to assist orphans. Further research is needed to determine whether other government programs also impact the emotional well-being of orphans.

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Acknowledgments

The research Project described above was supported by the United States National Institute of Mental Health Grant number 5R01MH078757-03 (P. I. Carla Sharp). However, the content, opinions and conclusions in this article are the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Development Support, University of the Free State, Third Floor, Flippie Groenewoud, Block E, IB 100, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa

    Michele Pappin, Lochner Marais, Molefi Lenka & Jan Cloete

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 126 Heyne Building, Houston, TX, 77024, USA

    Carla Sharp

  3. Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, 9 Avoca Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa

    Donald Skinner

  4. Anthropology, University of the Free State, Third Floor, Flippie Groenewoud, Block E, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa

    Motsaathebe Serekoane

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  1. Michele Pappin
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  2. Lochner Marais
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  4. Molefi Lenka
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  6. Donald Skinner
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  7. Motsaathebe Serekoane
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Correspondence to Michele Pappin.

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Pappin, M., Marais, L., Sharp, C. et al. Socio-economic Status and Socio-emotional Health of Orphans in South Africa. J Community Health 40, 92–102 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9903-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9903-1

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