Effects of Institutionalisation

Question 1

What is Institutionalisation?

Answer 1

• Effects of how time spent in an institution can affect the social, mental and physical development of children. May be irreversable.

Question 2

Rutter et al’s Aim

Answer 2

• To test what extent good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions.

Question 3

Rutter et al’s Procedure

Answer 3

• Longitudinal study following 165 Romanian children adopted in Britain.
• 111 were adopted before age 2 and 54 by age 4.
• Children were tested at regular intervals to test their physical, cognitive and social development.
• Interviews took place with their parents and teachers.
• Group of 52 British children adopted around same time acted as a control group.

Question 4

Rutter et al’s Findings

Answer 4

• At time of adoption when they arrived in UK, over half of Romanian children were malnourished and showed signs of mental retardation.
• By age 4, some children had caught up with their British counterparts.
• Romanian children adopted before 6 months had an average IQ of 102. Between 6 months and 2 years was 86. After 2 years was 77.
• Children adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment and a lack of selectivity in social relationships.
• At age 11, disinhibited behaviour types still existed and many were receiving special educational and mental health services.

Question 5

Rutter et al’s Conclusion

Answer 5

• Long term consequences may not be as severe as was once thought, especially if children have opportunity to form attachments before 6 months.
• Rutter suggested that the critical period could be better described as a sensitive period, meaning it is not impossible to form attachments after age of 2.5 years if child is adopted into a warm loving environment.

Question 6

Overall effects of Institutionalisation

Answer 6

1. Physical underdevelopment - physically small and research has found that this was usually due to lack of emotional care rather than poor nourishment.
2. Disinhibited attachment - form of insecure attachment where children are equally as friendly and affectionate to people they know well or who are complete strangers.
3. Mental Retardation - cognitive development is affected by emotional deprivation buy may be recovered if child is adopted before age of 6 months.
4. Poor Parenting - Quinton compared a group of 50 women who had been reared in an instituion with

Question 7

Overall effects of Institutionalisation

Answer 7

1. Physical underdevelopment - physically small and research has found that this was usually due to lack of emotional care rather than poor nourishment.
2. Disinhibited attachment - form of insecure attachment where children are equally as friendly and affectionate to people they know well or who are complete strangers.
3. Mental Retardation - cognitive development is affected by emotional deprivation buy may be recovered if child is adopted before age of 6 months.
4. Poor Parenting - Quinton compared a group of 50 women who had been reared in an institution with a control group of 50 women reared at home. Once in their 20s, ex institutional women were experiencing extreme difficulties acting as parents and more of their children spent time in care.

Question 8

Evaluation of Rutter’s Effects of Institutionalisation - individual differences

Answer 8

• Some children recover if no primary attachment has been formed within the critical period. Some children not as affected as others.
• Rutter suggests that maybe some children received special attention and so they did have early attachment experiences.
• Weakness - acts as a a potentional confounding variable and threatens the validity of the research and so we cannot generalise the findings.

Question 9

Evaluation of Rutter’s effects of Institutionalisation - long term effects still unclear

Answer 9

• Too soon to say with certainty whether children suffered long or short term effects.
• Children with attachment difficulties may ‘catch up’ as adults or children to appear to have no issues when young may experience emotional problems as adults.
• Weakness - unable to make any conclusions about the effects of institutionalisation.

Question 10

Evaluation of Rutter’s effects of Institutionalisation - Real life application

Answer 10

• Results have led to improvements in the way children are cared for in institutions.
• Every child is allocated a key work so that the child has a chance to develop normal attachments.
• Strength - shows how much research can be immensely valuable in practical terms.

Question 11

Evaluation of Rutter’s effects of Institutionalisation - fewer extraneous variables

Answer 11

• Many orphan studies before Romanian orphanages became available to study.
• Previous studies looked at who had experienced loss or trauma. Often traumatised from their experience. Hard to observe the effects of institutionalisation as the children were dealing with multiple personal factors that acted as confounding variables. The Romanian orphans were possible to isolate the effects of institutionalisation and study them alone.
• Strength - increases internal validity. Children were orphaned from birth and did not suffer any trauma and so we can conclude that the results were solely due to institutionalisation.