The orphans of Eritrea: A five-year follow-up study

A group of 4-7-year-old war orphans were examined for the first time while living in an institution (the Solomuna Orphanage) during a protracted war b etween Eritrea and Ethiopia. At that time, they were compared to a group of refugee children living in a nearby camp with one or both parents. The orp hans exhibited significantly more behavioral symptoms than the refugee chil dren, but performed the cognitive tests at a more advanced level. Five year s later, the orphans were re-examined; and they were compared to unaccompan ied 9-12-year-children living in one of two residential settings that diffe red qualitatively in their social climate, principles of child care, and pa tterns of staff-child interactions. Although the severity of their behavior al symptoms had diminished? the orphans still exhibited many symptoms of em otional distress. On the other hand, they performed the cognitive measures as well as, or better than, unaccompanied children who had been protected f rom the terrors of war. The cross-sectional comparisons indicated that a re sidential setting that respects the individuality of children and promotes their close personal ties with at least one staff member can ameliorate man y of the more serious psychological sequelae of having lost both parents an d being exposed to the physical dangers of the war. The implications for wa r orphans in other Third World countries are discussed.