Attachment: Romanian Orphan Studies: Effects Of Institutionalisation Flashcards
Why are there so many Romanian orphan studies
- in the 1990’s Romanian women were required to have 5 children
- many could not afford this + children ended up in huge orphanages in poor conditions
- after the revolution many were adopted, some by British parents
Outline the procedure of Rutters ERA (English and Romanian adoptee) study
- Rutter et al - followed group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain to test what extent of care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions
- physical, cognitive and emotional development assessed at 4, 6, 11 and 15 years
- control group consisted of 53 British children adopted around the same time
Outline the findings of Rutters ERA (English and Romanian adoptee) study
- upon arriving in uk, 1/2 showed sings of delayed intellectual development + most severely malnourished
- at 11, the children showed differential rates of recovery, related to their age of adoption
- mean iq of children adopted before age of 6 months was 102, compared to 86 for those adopted between 6 months and 2 years
- children adopted after 6 months showed signs of disinhibited attachment - attention seeking, clinginess
Outline the procedure of the Bucharest early intervention project
- zeanah et al - assessed attachment in 95 children 12-31 months old who had spent most of their lives in institutional care
- compared to a control group of 50 children who had never lived in an institution
- attachment type measured suing the strange situation
- carers were also asked about any unusual social behaviour
Outline the Findings of the Bucharest early intervention project
- 74% control group came out as securely attached
- only 19% of the institutional group were securely attached, 65% classified with disorganised attachment
Outline ‘disinhibited attachment’ as an effect of institutionalisation
- equally friendly + affectionate towards people they know well and strangers
- most children in their second year show stranger anxiety
- rutter - explained disinhibited attachment as a adaptation to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period for attachment formation
Outline ‘mental retardation’ as an effect of institutionalisation
- in rutters study - most children showed signs of retardation when arriving in Britain
- however, most of those adopted before 6 months old caught up with the control group by aged 4
- this provides some evidence that like intellectual development, recovery can occur
What are the three evaluation points for Romanian orphan studies
- real life application
- fewer extraneous variables than other orphan studies
- Romanian orphanages were not typical
Outline ‘real life application’ as an evaluation point for Romanian orphan studies
- enhanced our understanding of the effects of institutionalisation
- such results have led to improvements in the way children are cared for in institutions (Langton)
- e.g. orphanages + children’s homes now avoid having multiple caregivers for each child and instead ensure each child only has one or two - they are called ‘key workers’
Outline ‘fewer extraneous variables than other orphan studies’ as an evaluation point for Romanian orphan studies
- there are other orphan studies but these involve children who have experienced loss/trauma before being institutionalised
- it is hard to observe the effects of institutionalisation in isolation in these cases as the children are dealing with multiple factors which functioned as confounding participant variables
- Romanian orphan studies- internally valid
Outline ‘Romanian orphanages were not typical’ as an evaluation point for Romanian orphan studies
- it is possible the conditions in these institutions were so bad that results cannot be applied to understanding any situation where children experience deprivation
- the unusual situational variables mean the studies may lack generalisability
