Prevalence and predictors of emotional and behavioral problems among institutionalized children in Kandy District, Sri Lanka

Emotional Intelligence Based Intervention Program for Children in Residential Care During Pandemic Lockdown

“…Institutionalization is the first alternative for the care of children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their families. However, government protection is not exempt from significantly impacting child development [42][43][44]. In a study conducted by Desmond et al in 2020 [45], it was estimated that by 2015 in the world, there were about 5.37 million children under government care (95% CI 3.18-9.42 million), while in Mexico, a total of 188,246 cases were estimated (95% CI 185, 853-190-639).…”

“…Social-emotional difficulties, bonding, and mental disorders are among the most persistent effects and may remain even after adoption, even if it occurs in early childhood. It is estimated that they have a five times greater risk of psychopathologies such as depression, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder compared to children living with their families and three times greater than children coming from disadvantaged families [42][43][44]46,47] conducted a study in the central region of Sri Lanka with 259 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years, residing in institutions under government care for periods ranging from 6 months to 15 years. The Child Behavior Check List-S (CBCL-S) was applied to assess the presence of problematic behaviors.…”

“…Several life conditions of children living in RCH, represent a challenge for improving and optimizing well-being and mental health, as well as EI skills. These children have usually been exposed to a large number of adverse situations, including neglect of care, maltreatment, and physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, which places them as the most vulnerable child population and suggests that their mental condition may result not only from institutionalization but from an interaction of this condition with pre-existing mental conditions, biological risks, exposure to maltreatment and generated resilience; furthermore, data suggest that the risk increases with the length of stay in the institution [42][43][44]46,48,49]. Our results showed that delivery of EI intervention during critical periods of development, can help maintaining EI skills and empathy.…”

The Situation of Institutional Care: Reflections and Lived Experiences of Inmates in Child Care Centers of Southern Ethiopia

“…According to Ignasi, Mateu, & Leonard (2019), foster care children had signi cantly higher scores on all symptom and impairment measures than non-foster care mother and father groups. A longer duration in foster care (range 8 to 86 months) was also associated with signi cant lower scores on SCT, ADHD-IN, anxiety, depression, and academic impairment (Ginige et al, 2020). Tsegaye (2001) identi es the critical problems related to the child care institutions in Ethiopia such as in adequate funding to support programs designed for the children, shortage of trained personnel, inadequate skills training that resulted in long care in orphanages, lack of psychosocial services, and lack of long-term strategic planning.…”

“…Exposure to such abuse may in turn instigate problematic behavior in children (Segura, Pereda, Guilera et al, 2016cited in Pabasari, Anuradha, & Hasara, 2020. Externalizing problems such as rule-breaking and aggressive behavior seem to be more common than internalizing problems among children living in child care institutions, particularly among male children (Ginige, Baminiwatta, & Jayawardana, 2020). According to Ignasi, Mateu, & Leonard (2019), foster care children had signi cantly higher scores on all symptom and impairment measures than non-foster care mother and father groups.…”