Nana Ama Takyibea Adu

Children's Assessment of Well-being: a Study of the Experiences and the Subjective Well-being of Orphans Living in Institutions in Ghana Nana Ama Takyibea Adu

The study is concerned with the experiences of orphans living in institutions in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It attempts to understand how they assess their sense of well-being subjectively. The study goes further to gain knowledge on their experiences and to explore the kind of coping strategies that children employ in the institution. The theories that guided this study were the Social Studies of Childhood and Children?s Rights. The study is a qualitative one and several methods were used in the collection of data. In the study, the findings revealed that the children had their physical needs such as food, clothing, shelter and education met. However, their emotional needs were not sufficiently met resulting in a mixed feeling about their being in the institution. Some of the children formed bonds with either their sponsors or other children and this served as a form of a coping strategy for them. This book will be of great help to those interested in vulnerable children and their well-being. Children advocates will find this book interesting. It is worth noting that names of individuals and the institution used are not the original names because of ethical reasons.