RESUMO
The present study aimed at an investigation of mental health of children living in orphans homes. The sample consisted of 60 subjects [both boys and girls] from different orphans homes of Peshawar and Mardan city, Pakistan. The sample was divided into three groups. Group I included children with deceased parents, group II consisted of children whose one parent was alive but they were living in orphans homes, whereas the third group consisting of children living with their parents sewed as control group. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect the data. It was hypothesized that children living in orphans homes will manifest a high number of depressive symptoms as compared to control group. It was also assumed that children with deceased parents will show more depressive symptoms as compared to children living with both parents. It was further assumed that a negative correlation will be found between self-esteem and depressive symptoms of children living in orphan homes. After collecting the demographic information Children Depression Inventory [Kovacs, 2003] and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale [1965] were administered on the sample. One-way ANOVA shows a significant difference among the three groups. Research findings support our hypotheses