Attachment - Romanian orphan study

Question 1

What was the procedure of the Romanian orphan study?

Answer 1

-Longitudinal study
165 Romanian orphans
Assessed their physical, cognitive & emotional development at ages 4,6,11 & 15
Compared their results to a control group of 52 British children that had been adopted

Question 2

What was the findings of the Romanian orphan study?

Answer 2

Those adopted before 6 months had an IQ at 11 of : 102
Those adopted between 6months and 2 years had an IQ at 11 of : 86
Those adopted after 2 years at 11 had an IQ of : 77
These differences remained at 16
When they first arrived the kids showed signs of intellectual disability
- A majority were under nourished
Children adopted after 6 months showed signs of disinhibited attachment whereas children adopted before 6 months rarely showed signs of that

Question 3

What is disinhibited attachment?

Answer 3

An attachment disorder in which a child has little to no fear of unfamiliar adults and may actively approach them
e.g. attention seeking, clinginess etc…

Question 4

What is intellectual disability ( Mental retardation)

Answer 4

A significantly subaverage intellectual functioning (i.e., IQ no higher than approximately two standard deviations below the mean)

Question 5

What are the effects of institutionalism

Answer 5

• Disinhibited attachment
• Intellectual disability ( Mental retardation)

Question 6

STRENGTH 1 - Real life Application

Answer 6

P: Has real life application. Studying the Romanian orphans as enhanced our understanding of the effects of institutionalisation and has led to improvements in the way children are cared for.
E: For example to stop disinhibited attachment orphanages avoid having large numbers of carers
E: This allows the children to develop normal attachments
L: Therefore it has good practical value

Question 7

STRENGTH 2 : Unique methodology

Answer 7

P: Unique methodology
E: other studies have confounding variables e.g. trauma before being institutionalised
E: However the Romanian orphans entered the institution very early so there is a clear cause and effect
L: Therefore it has good internal validity

Question 8

Weakness 1 : Unique situation (Could also be a strength)

Answer 8

P: Unique situation
E: Conditions were so bad compared to other orphanages
E: So what we learn from the Romanian orphan study might only be true of itself because of these situational variables
L: Therefore we cannot generalise it’s findings