The Overwhelming Sadness of Being an “Orphan” with Parents: Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents Aging Out of Haiti’s Orphanages

Abstract

Most children living in Haiti’s orphanages have at least one living parent and are placed in institutional care due to poverty. Raised separately from their parents, some may not establish family ties. This study examines symptoms of depression among Haitian youth near the time that they aged out of orphanage care (T1) as well as 8 months after leaving the institution (T2). Two hypotheses were tested using participant scores on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Short Depression Scale (CESD-10): (H1) Aging out youth who had contact with a family member would have fewer depressive symptoms at T2 compared to those who had no family contact and (H2) that youth who had contact with a parent would have fewer depressive symptoms at T2 compared with youth who only had contact with non-parental family members or who had no family contact at all. Support for both hypotheses was found, though it was noted that all youths who had no family contact were depressed at T1 as measured by the CESD-10 and continued to be depressed at T2. Implications for policy changes and interventions, particularly those aimed at developing social support, relationships with mentors or surrogate parents, and increasing family contact are presented.