Attachment: Romanian Orphan Studies Flashcards
The effects of institutionalisation
What’s an institution??
A place dedicted to a particular task like caring for children or the mentally ill
Why were there so many orphans in the Romanian orphanages??
Romanian president passed a law that all women had to have 5 children
Who and when was the ERA (English & Romanian Adoptee) study??
Rutter (1998)
What was the aim of the Rutter (1998) study??
To investigate how the length of time they spent in deprivation and the age they were adopted at, affected their attachment styles
What were the 2 groups (and group sizes) used for Rutter (1998)’s study??
165 Romanian orphans adopted by British parents
Control: 52 British children
What were the 4 ages that Rutter (1998) assessed the physical, cognitive and emotional development of the children??
4, 6, 11 & 15
What were the mean IQs found in the Romanian children that depended on the age they were adopted at??
Before 6 months = 102
6 months - 2 years = 86
2 years+ = 77
Who stated that the differences in IQ (depending on the age of adoption) remain at age 16??
Beckett et al (2010)
What was the age of adoption that children showed signs of disinhibited attachment??
6 months+
What’s disinhibited attachment??
Typical result of spending time in an institution
Rutter (2006) stated that it was the result of living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period of attachment formation
What are the common characteristics of disinhibited attachment??
- Clingy
- Attention seeking
- Social with strangers as well as people they know
Who did the Bucharest early invention project and when??
Zeanah et al (2005)
What was the procedure of Zeanah et al (2005)??
- 95 children aged 12-31 months who spent most of their life institutionalised
- Control group of 50 children (never been institutionalised)
Assessed attachment in these 2 groups using The Strange Situation
What were the findings of Zeanah et al (2005)??
Institutionalised:
- 19% secure
- 65% disorganised attachment
- 44% disinhibited
Control:
- 74% secure
- 20% disinhibited
What did Rutter find as an effect of institutionalisation??
Mental retardation
However… Those adopted before 6 months old caught up with the control by age 4
So… Damage to development can be recovered as long as adoption is before 6 months old
What are the 3 evaluation points for the Romanian Orphan studies??
- Real-life applications
- Fewer extraneous variables
- Romanian orphanages were unique
Expand on the evaluation point of Romanian orphan studies having real-life applications!
Langton (2006):
Institutions now focus on giving a child a couple caregivers rather than multiple which gives them a chance to attach to a ‘key caregiver’
Expand on the evaluation point of Romanian orphan studies having fewer extraneous variables!
Gave an opportunity to research the effects of maternal deprivation without the cofounding variables of abuse or neglect, therefore increasing internal validity
Expand on the evaluation point of Romanian Orphan studies being unique!
Conditions of the orphanages were so bad that they’re incomparable to similar situations.
So, it’s difficult to develop theories of the effects of institutionalisation that’s more typical
