ATTACHMENT- Romanian orphan studies Flashcards
What is an institution?
-A place dedicated to a particular task, such as looking after children awaiting adoption, the mentally ill or a hospital
-Places where people live for a long time
-In the past institutions used to offer strict regimes and little emotional care
Define institulisation?
-The effects of institutionalised care
-Concerned about how time spent in an institution such as an orphanage can affect the development of children
What was happening in Romania between 1966 and 1989?
-Romania had a communist government was ruled by the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu
-He tried to boost the population by banning abortions and many types of contraception so that large families could be formed
-It was an impoverished country at the time so they thought that when these children grew up it would produce more workers and therefore boost the economy
-In 1989 the regime collapsed as the government was overthrown after a violent revolution and the rest of the world became aware of the fate of these orphans
What were the conditions like in the institutions?
-Dark
-Dingy
-smelly
-unhygienic
-damp
-filthy
-hugely understaffed
-gruel to eat (no nutritional value)
-Tied to their beds so less supervision was needed
What was the care given to the orphans like?
Lacked:
-care
-supervision
-education
-support
-hygiene
-stimulation
-maternal/paternal care
-nutrition
How did many orphans cope after being adopted?
-Missed the institutions as that was the only thing they knew
-Found it difficult to get used to family life
-Difficult to manage their emotions
What was a behaviour that the children displayed
-Rocking back and forth due to being understimulated
Who carried out The English and Romanian adoptees study (ERA)?
-Rutter and Songua-Barke
What was the sample?
-165 Romanian children who spent their early lives in Romanian institutions and suffered the effects of institutionalisation
Who was part of the control group?
52 British children adopted in the UK before the age of 6 months
When were they tested?
Ages:
-4
-6
-11
-15
What were they tested for?
-Assessed for their physical, cognitive and social development
-Information was also gathered in interviews with parents and teachers
What were the findings?
-At the time of adoption the Romanian orphans lagged behind the British control group in cognitive, social and physical development
-BY age 4 some of the Romanian orphans had caught up with the control group (this was true for most of the Romanian orphans adopted before 6 months)
-Many of the orphans adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachments and had problems forming proper relationships
In conclusion, what did the study find?
-The long-term effects may be less severe if the children have the opportunity to form attachments
-However, if the children do not form attachments the consequences will be more severe
What were the 4 effects of institutionalisation?
-Physical underdevelopment
-Intellectual under-functioning (low IQ)
-Disinhibited attachment
-Poor parenting as adults
What was physical underdevelopment?
-Children in institutionalised care were physically small
What did Gardner (1972) suggest?
-That lack of emotional acre rather than malnutrition was the cause of their deprivation dwarfism
What is intellectual under-functioning?
-Low IQ
-Cognitive development is also affected by emotional deprivation
What was disinhibited attachment?
-A form of insecure attachment
-Children do not discriminate between people they choose as attachment figures
-These children will treat strangers with inappropriate familiarity and maybe attention-seeking
Which peices of evidence support that these children will be poor parents?
-Harlow- showed that monkeys raised by a surrogate mother went on to be poor parents
-Supported by a study by Quin et al (1984) who compared a group of 50 women from institutions and 50 women that were raised at home
-The study found that when they (institutionalised women) were in their 20s they found it extremely difficult to act as parents
What was the benefit of the ERA study being longitudinal?
-Can study the long-term effects/ consequences
What was the Bucharest early intervention project?
-Zeanah et al (2005) assessed the attachment in 95 children aged between 12 and 31 months who had spent an average of 90% of their time in institutions
-They were compared to a control group who spent their life in a regular family
-The attachment type was measured using the strange situation
What were the findings of the Bucharest early intervention project?
-74% of the control group was found to be securely attached but od 19% of the institutional group
-The institutional group showed signs of disinhibited attachment
What was LeMare and Audet’s study in 2006?
-They carried out a longitudinal study on the physical growth and health of 36 Romanian orphans adopted by Canadian families
-They were compared to a normal group of children raised in Canadian families
-Data was collected for each child at 3 time points:11 months(after adoption), 4.5 years of age and 10.5 years of ge
What were the findings of the LeMare and Audet’s study?
-The first 2 sets of results showed that the adoptees were behind the non-instituionalised group however by 10.5 years there was no difference (the Romanians had caught up)
