Psychological Well-Being of Orphaned Children and Children Who Left without Parental Care in the Conditions of a Children’s Health Camp

Abstract

Objective. Study of the psychological well-being of children left without parental care in a children’s health camp in different social situations and in different social environments. Background. The negative effects of raising orphaned children in state institutions can be compensated by their stay in alternative socialization conditions, including in a children’s health camp. It is important to study the psychological well-being of orphans in a health camp as determining the effectiveness of their socialization. Study design. The paper studied the influence of two factors on the psychological well-being of orphaned children in the camp: the type of social situation and the composition of the social environment. The connection was checked by applying the Mann-Whitney U-test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Participants. Students of centers for the promotion of family education (N=115) who are on vacation in children’s health camps in mixed groups (N=64) and in separate groups (N=51). Of these, 55 are boys and 60 are girls between the ages of 12 and 15. Camp counselors (N=15) from mixed (N=10) and separate (N=15) groups. Measurements. A survey using the method of self-assessment of emotional States by A. Wessman and D. Rix, including programmed observation. Results. The composition of the social environment is one of the factors that determine the well-being of children. Among teenagers in mixed groups (“family” teenagers and orphaned children), it is more favorable in the situation of communication with counselors, and less favorable in the situation of joint activities with peers. In groups consisting only of orphaned children, the well-being is more favorable in situations of joint activity and everyday communication. In General, orphaned children in separate detachments feel more comfortable compared to orphans in mixed detachments. There was a discrepancy between the assessment of psychological well-being by orphaned teenagers and the assessment of this well-being by counselors. Conclusions. The psychological well-being of orphaned teenagers in a children’s health camp is determined by two factors — the type of social situation and the composition of the social environment.