effects of institutionalisation Flashcards
what is an institution?
An institution is a place dedicated to a particular task, such as looking after children awaiting adoption, or caring for the mentally ill, or looking after patients in hospital.
what do children experience?
Privation - occurs when children have never formed an attachment. This is more likely to happen in institutions if there is poor emotional care
what was happening in romania?
In 1966, the Romanian government, under the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, tried to boost the population by encouraging parents to have large families and banning abortion and many forms of contraception.
Consequently many babies could not be cared for by their families.
what was the aim of rutter’s era study?
Test to what extent good care could make up for the poor early experiences in institutions.
what was rutter’s procedure?
Rutter et al. (2011) conducted a longitudinal study on 165 Romanian orphans adopted by British parents.
- Children were split into 4 groups;
Group 1: children under the age of 6 months
Group 2: children between the ages of 6 and 24 months
Group 3: children over 48 months
Group 4: British adoptees who were the control group
- Each group was assessed at the ages of 4, 6, 11 and 15
- At the start of the observations, over half of the Romanian children were suffering from severe malnutrition and a low IQ, showing delayed intellectual development, compared to the control group
findings of rutter’s research
Age 6: those adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment (overly friendly behaviour towards unknown adults)
Age 11: 54% of those children who were adopted after 6 months, that had shown disinhibited behaviour, still showed disinhibited attachment
Symptoms of disinhibited attachment include attention-seeking, clinginess and social behaviour directed indiscriminately towards all adults, whether familiar or unfamiliar
