Attachment- effects of institutionalisation Flashcards
What is institutionalisation
refers to the effects on an individual of being raised in an orphanage or residential children’s home.
What is privation
s the absence of an attachment relationship.
What is deprivation
where an attachment is broken or lost, a child suffering from privation has never had the opportunity to form an attachment in the first place.
What are the 3 effects of institutionalisation
- Disinhibited attachment
- Mental retardation
- Deprivation dwarfsim
Why was Romania chosen
In 1966, the Romanian communist government under the dictator Ceauşescu, tried to boost the population by encouraging mothers to have large families (at least 5 children) and by banning abortion.
The severe poverty in the country meant that many babies could not be cared for by their families and so after the revolution in 1989 when Ceauşescu’s government was overthrown, the western world became aware of the fact that there were more than 100,000 children in the 600 state run orphanages in Romania.
Who was the key researcher in the romanian orphanage study
Rutter
What did Rutter study
the children who were adopted by English families which is why Rutter’s research is often referred to as the ERA study (English and Romanian Adoptee study).
How many were in the sample in the ROS
165 Romanian children
What was the aim of the ROS
To investigate the long-term effects of institutional care and to see the extent to which good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions.
What was the procedure in the ROS
This longitudinal study started in the early 1990s and has followed a group of Romanian children adopted to the UK from institutions in Romania. A randomly selected sample of 165 children from Romania (of whom 144 had been reared in institutions) who were adopted by UK families, with placement before the age of 4, was studied at 4, 6, and 11 years of age. (most recent is follow up at age 21)
Comparisons were made with a sample of 52 non-institutionalised UK children adopted before the age of 6 months, who were studied in the same way. The researchers used a range of measures.
What did Rutter find in relation to physical development
Over half of the Romanian kids showed evidence of severe malnourishment and were in the bottom third of the population for weight and head circumference.
By the age of 4 years, many had caught up with their peers.
What did Rutter find in relation to intellectual development
By the age of 11, the Romanian kids showed differences in recovery related to the age of adoption, and many showed signs of learning disabilities:
Adopted before 6 months : Mean IQ 102
Adopted between 6 months and 2 years: Mean IQ 86
Adopted after 2 years : Mean IQ 77
Hence, a negative correlation between time in orphanage and IQ.
By the age of 11, the Romanian kids showed differences in recovery related to the age of adoption, and many showed signs of learning disabilities:
Adopted before 6 months : Mean IQ ___
Adopted between 6 months and 2 years: Mean IQ __
Adopted after 2 years : Mean IQ __
102
86
77
What did Rutter find in relation to emotional development
At 6, 70% of those adopted after 6 months showed signs of disinhibited attachment (attention seeking, clinginess and indiscriminate attachment behaviours) compared to only 47% of Romanian children adopted before 6 months.
PLUS, 45% of those measured as showing disinhibited attachments at 6, continued to show this behaviour at 11 years.
This 45% were also far more likely to be receiving help for special educational needs or poor mental health.
At 6, __% of those adopted after 6 months showed signs of disinhibited attachment (attention seeking, clinginess and indiscriminate attachment behaviours) compared to only __% of Romanian children adopted before 6 months.
PLUS, __% of those measured as showing disinhibited attachments at 6, continued to show this behaviour at 11 years.
This __% were also far more likely to be receiving help for special educational needs or poor mental health.
70
47
45
45
What did Rutter conclude
Institutionalisation can have relatively long-term negative effects on social, emotional and cognitive development, but these effects can be minimised if children are taken out of the institutional environment before 6 months.
What were the 3 effects shown in the ROS
- Disinhibited attachment
- Deprivation dwarfism
- Developmental retardation
How was disinhibited attachment shown in the ROS
Long periods of institutional care in early life can lead children to behave in an attention seeking, overly familiar way with complete strangers and appear to select attachment figures indiscriminately.
In Rutters (2007) research, some children randomly sat on the researchers (strangers) knee.
This may make these children more vulnerable to abuse.
How was developmental retardation shown in the ROS
Children raised in institutions often have delayed development (e.g. language) and have a lower IQ on average than their peers.
For example, in Rutters (2007) research children who spent over 2 years within an orphanage had an average IQ of 77.
This seems to be a long lasting effect.
How was deprivation dwarfism shown in the ROS
Children in institutional care are often physically smaller and research has shown that a lack of emotional care, rather than poor nourishment can lead to physical underdevelopment.
For example, in Rutters (2007) Romanian research over half of the institutionalised children were in the bottom third for weight and head circumference.
Evaluation, practical application
-ROS
The Romanian orphan studies have useful practical applications.
For example, the research enhanced understanding of the possible negative effects of being raised in an institution (e.g., disinhibited attachment) and this has led to changes in institutions like children’s homes. For instance, the establishment of a key workers system to enable children to create attachment relationships. Plus, it has emphasised a need for adoption / foster placements to be made ASAP to minimalise issues, with all adoption services having time based targets.
Therefore without this research, we would not understand the consequences of institutionalisation as well as we do and be able to put the needed support in place for children in care.
Evaluation, overcoming effects
- ROS
In addition, there is promising evidence from the Romanian orphan studies that the adverse effects of institutionalisation can be overcome with adequate substitute care.
For example, in Rutter’s (2007) ERA study he found …
children made progress with physical development;
the shorter the time spent in the institution, the greater the chances of intellectual recovery;
many of the children’s emotional development (attachments) had recovered by age 11.
This suggests that recovery is possible from the physical effects of institutionalisation and enables a positive approach when working with those who have been institutionalised.
Evaluation, generalisability
- ROS
There are however, problems generalising from Romanian studies as standards of care were particularly poor in these institutions so the effects of being raised in these places may not be representative of living in all institutions of this type.
In addition, it is impossible to control extraneous variables in natural experiments of this type so there may have been other factors affecting the differences between the Romanian adoptees and the controls. For example…
the presence / absence of siblings could have influenced stress levels;
the absence (minimal presence) of educational toys, educational trips;
lack of peer interaction.
This means we cannot take this research as completely valid evidence for the negative effects of institutionalisation.
Evaluation, incomplete conclusions
- ROS
Finally, it is possible that some of the long term effects of institutionalisation may not be clear until adulthood (e.g. effects on parenting capabilities).
This relates to the CONTINUITY hypothesis identified by Bowlby and the concept of the INTERNAL WORKING MODEL which would suggest that the institutionalised children will go on to form poor relationships with their own children.
Therefore, there is more research that needs to be done on these adopted children in order to see how their childhood experiences affect their adult relationships.
