The aim of the present study was to explore stress (symptoms of depression and anxiety), coping and the overall quality of life of orphaned children in comparison to non-orphans who resided with their parents.We sampled 200 participants aged between 7 and 17 years, with 100 being orphaned children placed in four orphanages (experimental group) and 100 non-orphans from two public schools in Accra, Ghana (control group).