attachment 11 - romanian orphans (rutter) Flashcards
why were there so many romanian orphans in the 1980s/1990s?
the president of romania instructed that all women must have 5 children. a lot of families could not afford this and so many of the children were taken into institutions which were usually in very poor conditions
how many romanian orphans adopted by british parents did rutter at al study?
165
why did rutter et al study romanian orphans adopted by british parents?
to test if good care could make up for bad experiences in the orphanages
what 3 types of development was assessed by rutter et al?
physical, cognitive and emotional development
physical, cognitive and emotional development was assessed at what 4 ages in the children?
4,6,11,15
what was rutter’s control group?
52 british children who were also adopted
how many of the romanian orphans were malnourished and mentally retarded when they arrived in the uk?
around half
what was the rate in which the romanian orphans developed determined by?
the age they arrived in the uk
the romanian orphans seemed to be okay if they arrived under the age of what?
six months
romanian children adopted after six months old showed signs of what?
disinhibited attachment
how many children did zena et al assess?
95
how old were the children that zena et al assessed?
12-31 months
what percent of their lives did the children zena et al assess spend in institutional care?
90%
what was the control group in zena et al’s study?
50 children who had never lived in an institution
what technique did zena et al use to assess attachment?
the strange situation
how many of zena et al’s control group were securely attached compared to the institution group?
control were 74% whereas institution were 19%
name the two effects of insitutionalisation
disinhibited attachment and mental retardation
describe disinhibited attachment and rutter’s explanation of it
they are extremely friendly to everyone they meet and do not experience stranger anxiety as normal babies do. rutter explained that this was due to multiple care givers during the sensitive period
in rutter’s study most children showed signs of what when they arrived in the uk?
mental retardation
orphans adopted by six months caught up with the control group in terms of intelligence by what age?
four
how do studies on romanian orphans have immensely valuable practical uses?
these studies have enhanced our understanding of how institutions can affect children. we can take better care of children in care and ensure only a few care givers are involved in a child’s life (key workers).
how do the romanian orphan studies have high internal validity?
the children were taken to the institution very young. other orphan studies have involved children who had experienced trauma in their lives. this made it hard to observe the effects of being institutionalised as there could have been confounding variables such as the effects of neglect.
how are the results of romanian orphan studies non- generalisable to other institutions?
romanian orphanages were not typical. they were badly run and in poor condition. not all institutions the same.