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Mental Health in Relation to Parental Absence: A Systematic Review
Mohammed Barry1, Abdulaziz Alyahyawi2, Heba Jafar Sabbagh1
1Pediatric Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Orphaned children show higher rates of depression, anxiety, and aggression. Despite these challenges, they also demonstrate resilience and self-efficacy, though findings require cautious interpretation due to study limitations.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Mental Health Research
- Systematic Review
Background:
- Parental absence significantly impacts child development and mental well-being.
- Orphaned children face unique challenges affecting their psychological state.
- Understanding these impacts is crucial for effective childcare and support systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and evaluate existing literature on the mental health of orphaned children compared to non-orphaned children.
- To identify specific mental health outcomes associated with parental absence in children.
- To synthesize findings on psychological well-being, behavioral issues, and protective factors in orphaned children.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, MEDLINE, and Science Direct.
- Six studies met the inclusion criteria after screening 1017 studies.
- Quality assessment used the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS), followed by meta-analysis where feasible.
Main Results:
- Orphaned children exhibited higher levels of aggression, depression, PTSD symptoms, and anxiety.
- Poorer psychological well-being, increased somatic symptoms, and social dysfunction were noted in orphans.
- No significant differences were found in resilience, self-efficacy, or internalizing/externalizing problems; meta-analysis showed increased anxiety (SMD=0.68, p=0.02) but not depression (SMD=0.77, p=0.10).
Conclusions:
- Orphaned children may experience elevated mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
- Internal strengths such as resilience and self-efficacy are present in orphaned children.
- Findings necessitate cautious interpretation due to limited studies and significant heterogeneity across diverse cultural contexts.
Objective:
To evaluate the literature based on the relationship between orphaned children and mental health, compared to non-orphaned children. Mental well-being of orphaned children is a profound intricate topic that connects with broader concerns of childcare. This systematic review aims to evaluate the literature regarding the relationship between mental health and parental absence.
Methods:
We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, MEDLINE, and Science Direct in October 2025, with 1017 screened studies. Six studies met the inclusion criteria. Independent reviewers performed quality assessments using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). Subsequently, a meta-analysis was performed when possible.
Results:
Findings indicate that orphaned children demonstrated higher levels of aggressive behavior (1 study: p = 0.05), depression (2 studies: p<0.001 and p<0.001), and PTSD symptoms (1 study: p<0.001). Anxiety was also higher among orphans (3 studies: p = 0.038, p = 0.006 and p<0.001). Orphans also had poorer psychological well-being (1 study: p<0.001), greater somatic symptoms (1 study: p<0.001), and higher social dysfunction (1 study: p<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in resilience (1 study: p = 0.16), self-efficacy (1 study: p = 0.58), or internalizing and externalizing problems (1 study: p = 0.64). Meta-analysis of studies evaluating depression yielded non-significant increased standardized mean differences (SMD) of 0.77 (p = 0.10). While the meta-analysis of studies evaluating anxiety showed a significant increased SMD of 0.68 (p = 0.02) among children with parental absence.
Conclusion:
Orphaned children may exhibit elevated levels of depression, anxiety, aggression, and poorer psychological well-being compared to their non-orphaned peers. However, they also possess internal strengths such as resilience and self-efficacy. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limited number of studies and the high degree of heterogeneity across studies and cultural contexts.
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