Thinking about the past, present and future in adolescents growing up in Childrenʹs Homes

The present study tested the hypothesis that adolescents growing up in Childrenʹs Homes differ from adolescents growing up in a family environment in how they think about their past, present and future, in the way they make decisions about future events and rewards, and in their levels of empathy and perspective taking. The participants were 40 adolescents from Childrenʹs Homes in Budapest, Hungary, and 40 age- and gender-matched controls. Group differences were found in participantsʹ past and present time perspectives, and girls from Childrenʹs Homes showed reduced consistency in their plans for the future. Additionally, gender differences emerged in empathy, perspective taking, and in participantsʹ present and future time perspectives. We discuss the implications of our findings for interventions to improve the future prospects of adolescents in Childrenʹs Homes.