Attachment - Institutionalisation and Romanian orphan studies Flashcards
What is Institutionalisation?
The effects of institutionalised care and how it can affect childrens development - mentally, physically, emotionally
What was the procedure of Rutter et al.’s study?
Have followed a group of 165 Romanian adoptees for many yrs as part of the English and Romanian Adoptee study (ERA). Some of the Romanian orphans adopted by families in the UK. ERA aimed to investigate the extent to which good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions.
111 adopted before age of 2 and 54 by 4. Physical, cognitive and social development tested at ages 4, 6, 11, 15 and 22-25. Info gathered from interviews w/ parents and teachers.
52 British children adopted in UK served as control group.
What were the findings of Rutter et al.’s study in terms of intellectual dev.?
When first arrived in UK showed signs of delayed intellectual development and severely malnourished. Age 11 - showed diff. rates of recovery depending on age when adopted. IQ of those before 6 months was 102, 86 for those adopted between 6 months and 2 yrs and 77 for after 2 yrs. These diff.s remained at age 16.
What were the findings of Rutter et al.’s study in terms of att.?
Diff. in outcome related to whether adoption took place before or after 6 months. Those after 6 months showed disinhibited att. style - attention seeking, clinginess and social beh. directed towards familiar and unfamiliar adults. Those adopted before 6 months rarely displayed disinhibited att.
ERA AO3: Why does this study have good real life application?
Can be used to improve conditions for children growing up in care. The research points to early adoption. In the past mothers were encouraged to nurse the baby for a significant period of time meaning it formed an att. in the sensitive period and struggled to form secure att.s w/ adoptive parents.
Also avoid children in care having lots of diff. caregivers and instead one or two key workers. There is also a considerable effort to put children in foster homes or for them to be adopted.
ERA AO3: What is the value in longitudinal studies like the ERA?
Follow the children over many yrs - longitudinal study. Takes a lot of time and planning and waiting for results. However w/o these studied we may mistakenly conclude there are major early effects due to institutional care whereas these studies show some of these effects can disappear over time w/ high quality care.
ERA AO3: What is the issue w/ ind. diff.s in this study?
Some research suggests that ind.s who don’t form an att. in the sensitive period are unable to recover. Not true of all children who experienced institutionalisation. In all of the studies there are children who are not as strongly att.ed as others. This may be because the child received special attention in the institution e.g. one girl allowed to dress up on her birthday so better att.
ERA AO3: Why is this socially sensitive research?
The results show that late adopted children typically have poor developmental outcomes. These results have been published while children have been growing up meaning parents, teachers and other ppl who know them might lower their expectations and treat the adopted child differently. May have created a self-fulfilling prophecy.
