Risk factors associated with care for orphaned children: A case-control study of orphans in orphanages and orphans in family care in Kinshasa
Description
This study examines the system of family care for orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa with the example of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Applying a retrospective research design - the case-control design - to the study of orphaned children, the research attempts to explain why some orphans leave their relatives and enter orphanages while the other larger group is taken in by members of the extended family Two groups of children are compared: orphans staying at the sites of orphanages and orphans from a similar background that continue to live with family members. All children in the sample have lost one or both of their parents and are between 8 and 20 years old. A total of 880 children have been interviewed. Children in orphanages and children in family care are compared with respect to three sets of risk factors: (a) demographic risk factors, (b) social risk factors, and (c) experiences of violence and discrimination in the family The data analysis suggests that among the indicators that were examined, experiences of violence and discrimination are most important in predicting the outcome variable. Some of the demographic characteristics also figured prominently as predictors. Surprisingly, the social characteristics appear to be less relevant in differentiating between cases and controls. Orphans at high risk to leave the family include (a) maternal orphans, (b) children that lost their parent(s) at a young age, (c) orphans from families with few adult relatives, (d) orphans without sibling support, (e) orphans without access to essential social services, in particular schooling, and (f) children that suffer violence, discrimination or other forms of abuse by a family adult. The cultural phenomenon of children accused of sorcery ('enfants dits sorciers') is especially disturbing. With more than 50% of the children in orphanages and 20% of the children in family care accused of sorcery by family members, the research confirms earlier impressions that the belief in sorcery is becoming a most significant factor in child abandonment in the Democratic Republic of Congo