The Comparison of Executive Functions in Children Residing in Orphanage and Those in Normal Conditions

This study compared the executive functions in children
residing in orphanage and normal conditions.
This Ex-Post Facto study enrolled 90 children from orphanage and 90 normal children in three age groups (7-5, 11-9, 15-13 years old) from the city of Gorgan in 2011. In each age group, 30 orphanage children were recruited through convenient sampling method and for the selection normal children; the first stage used cluster sampling followed by random sampling methods. Coolidge (2002) neuropsychological and personality tests were administered across subjects. Data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA and Scheffe tests.
Data analysis revealed some significant differences in executive functions between orphanage and normal children of all age groups.
Our findings have suggested that poor executive functions in children residing in orphanages could possibly be due to the environmental isolation, economic variables and the lack of rich social interactions.