Institutional Care

Question 1

What is institutional care?

Answer 1

when a child’s living arrangements are outside of the family.
Some children are raised in institutions, such as children’s homes, hostels, hospitals etc.

Question 2

What is deinviduation

Answer 2

Children raised in institutions can adopt the rules and norms of the institution, which could impair functioning and lead to a loss of personal identity

Question 3

What / who did Rutter et al (2010) study

Answer 3

Romanian orphans

Question 4

Rutter et al (2010 orphans) procedure

Answer 4

-165 Romanian children who spent their early lives in Romanian orphanages
- they were tested at regular intervals (ages 4, 6, 11 & 15) to assess their physical, social, & cognitive development
- their progress was compared to a control group of 52 British children adopted in the UK before the age of 6 months

Question 5

The romanian orphans suffered from the effects of

Answer 5

Institutionalisation

Question 6

Findings of Rutter et al (2010)

Answer 6

• @ time of adoption British counterparts were ahead in all measures (cog,social,phys)
• Romanian children adopted BEFORE 6 months had caught up with their British counterparts by the 4
• however, those adopted after 6 months still had deficits at 4

Question 7

Conclusion of Rutter et Al (2010)

Answer 7

• that long term consequences of institutionalisation may be less severe that once thought IF children are adopted before 6 months & receive sensitive parenting
• However, if not adopted by 6 months, consequences of institutionalism = severe

Question 8

What are the 6 Effects of Institutionalisation

Answer 8

1. Delayed Intellectual Development
2. Disinhibited Attachment
3. Emotional Development
4. Lack of Internal Working Model
5. Quasi-Autism
6. Delayed Physical Development

Question 9

What is delayed intellectual development

Answer 9

Children raised in institutions can have a low IQ and concentration problems. This means they may struggle at school because they cannot learn new behaviours and concepts as quickly. They can also have delayed language development.

Question 10

What is disinhibited attachment

Answer 10

Children raised in institutions may not know what appropriate behaviour towards strangers is. They can be overly affectionate and attention-seeking.

Question 11

How might institutionalised children display a lack of emotional development

Answer 11

Having difficulty managing their anger (e.g. they have more temper tantrums than other children).

Question 12

What is the effect of having a lack of internal working model

Answer 12

Children raised in institutions may have difficulty interacting with peers and forming close relationships. As adults they will have impaired adult relationships and can struggle to parent their own children.

Question 13

How many children display quasi autism

Answer 13

• they struggle to understand the meaning of social contexts and can have obsessional behaviours.
  They can have lower frequency of pretend play and reduced empathy.

Question 14

Delayed physical development effects on children

Answer 14

Research has shown that a lack of emotional care rather than poor nourishment is the cause of what has been called deprivation dwarfism.

Question 15

(+) how studies have helped us (practical application)

Answer 15

Studies that have investigated the effects of institutionalisation have enhanced our understanding of the potential negative consequences of institutional care and has led to the establishment of key workers in institutions to provide emotional care for children.

Question 16

(+) how studies led to a change in the adoption process

Answer 16

In the past mothers were encouraged to nurse their children for as long as possible before giving them up for adoption.
Today most babies are adopted within their first week of life (certainly before six months).

Question 17

(-) problems generalising the findings of studies of Romanian orphans

Answer 17

This is as standards of care were particularly poor in Romanian orphanages.
-> orphans were faced more than emotional deprivation.
-> The physical conditions = appalling + a lack of cognitive stimulation.
It is likely that long-term damage from institutional care only occurs when there are multiple risk factors.

Question 18

(-) how sensitive parenting can change effects (Le Mare & Audet 2006)

Answer 18

It is possible that the negative effects of institutional care can be reduced by sensitive parenting. Le Mare and Audet (2006) conducted a longitudinal study of 36 Romanian orphans adopted to families in Canada.
-> adopted orphans were physically smaller than a matched control group at age four but this difference had disappeared by ten. The same was true for psychological health.

Question 19

(-) participant variables could have affected Rutter et Al study

Answer 19

Adoption and control groups were not randomly allocated to conditions in studies of Romanian orphans. This means that participant variables between the children could influence the findings in unanticipated ways. The adopted children might have been adopted because of personal characteristics such as resilience or being more sociable. These characteristics might explain why they were less affected by institutional care, which lowers the validity of the research.