Comparison of Meaning in Life and Self-control between Orphans and Non-orphans

Abstract

Pakistan has a population of 200 million including 65.3 million children under the age of 14 years. Over 4.6 million children are orphans. The study was designed to investigate the comparison of meaning in life and self-control between orphan and non-orphan. Correlational research design was used. Survey was conducted as a method of data collection by using purpose sampling technique to select sample of study 240 orphans and non-orphans (n=121, n=119). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006) and The Self-Restraint subscale from the Adolescents’ Self-Consciousness Scale (Nie et al., 2014) was utilized to measure participants’ self-control ability. The collected data were analyzed on SPSS. Results indicate that there is positive relationship between meaning in life and self-control ability among orphans and non-orphans. Moreover, the findings of the study reveal that meaning in life is a significant positive predictor of self-control. In addition, the level of meaning in life and self-control significantly greater in non-orphans as compared to orphans. It is recommended that counseling should be provided to orphans to enhance the level of self-control ability and maiming in life.