Psychological Characteristics of Adolescents Orphans with Different Experience of Living in a Family

Abstract

The complexity of settling adolescents-orphans in foster families and significant number of break-downs in these families are the problems which determine the relevance of current research. Many adolescent orphans get in social institutions repeatedly, because their psychological features lead to difficulties that their foster parents are unable to cope with. These features hereby need to be thoroughly studied. This article presents the study of psychological features of adolescents with different experiences of living in a family. Research complex of 17 psycho-diagnostic methods allowed to reveal specific differences in psychology of adolescents-orphans without experience of living in a family, compared with adolescents who live in orphan institutions, but have the experience of living in a family and with adolescents living in a family since their birth. It was found that family deprivation violates psychological development of adolescents. The violation manifests itself in the specificity of their emotional intelligence and regulatory functions, reduction of social intelligence and level of sociability, as well as in specific self-image (negative self-attitude, uncertainty, distrust of the world, particular attitude to the future and the prospects of life, etc.) and perception of the other (distorted attitude towards the family and its members, negative view of parent-child relationship and child functions, etc.). The results obtained are of interest for children psychologists and social workers.