Mental Health and Self-Esteem of Orphans

Abstract

Objective

: To determine the mental health and self-esteem of orphans in Songkhla Children’s Home.

Methods

: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Songkhla Children’s Home. Sixty-six orphans aged 7 years or more completed the Thai General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and 10 questions from Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results are shown in frequency and percentage.

Results

: 28.8% of samples had mental health problem; 18.2% of them had medium level self-esteem, 75.7% had high level self-esteem, and 6.1% scored the highest level for self-esteem. Moreover, the warm embrace of orphan caregivers, Body Mass Index (BMI), and history of the disease were associated with mental health (p=0.044, <0.001 and 0.004 respectively). We found that having a quarrel with a friend was also associated with self-esteem (p=0.028).

Conclusion

s : This study showed a lower percentage of mental health problems in orphans compared with other studies. We also found a higher percentage of self-esteem compared with other studies. The relationship between self-esteem and mental health problems was not found.