Abstract:
Introduction: Even though children in orphanages experience's multifaceted psychosocial problems, limited research has focused on psychological protective factors that can lessen the effect of orphanhood.
Aim: To examine associations between mindfulness and psychological factors (i.e., depression, cognitive function, positive emotion, and negative emotion) among adolescent orphans.
Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive correlation study and 140 orphan children living in three orphan homes, Tamil Nadu, India were recruited. Study's instruments included Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM), Cognitive Functioning Scale (CFS), Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C).
Results: There was significant correlation observed between mindfulness and depression among orphan adolescents (r=-0.53, p<0.01). Further, mindfulness had significant relationships to cognitive function (r=0.30, p<0.01), positive affect (r=0.33, p<0.01) and negative emotion (r=-0.38, p<0.01). Regression analysis showed that depression accounted 39% of variance in the model containing mindfulness, positive affect and negative affect.
Conclusion: This study supports the emerging literature on the benefits of mindfulness construct. Present findings will encourage the mindfulness-based interventions targeting wellbeing of an orphan adolescent.