Institutionalisation Flashcards
What was the aim of Rutter’s study on English and Romanian adoptees?
To test to what extent good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions.
How many Romanian orphans were involved in Rutter’s study?
A group of 165 Romanian orphans were adopted in Britain.
At what ages were the adoptees’ development assessed?
Development was assessed at ages 4, 6, 11, and 15.
What were the initial conditions of the adoptees upon arrival in the UK?
Half of the adoptees showed signs of mental retardation and the majority were severely undernourished.
What was the mean IQ of orphans adopted before 6 months at age 11?
The mean IQ was 102.
What was the mean IQ of orphans adopted between 6 months and 2 years at age 11?
The mean IQ was 86.
What was the mean IQ of orphans adopted after 2 years at age 11?
The mean IQ was 77.
What attachment behavior was observed in children adopted after 6 months?
They showed signs of disinhibited attachment.
What is disinhibited attachment?
It is where the child shows the same level of affection to strangers as to those they closely know and care for.
What conclusion did Rutter’s findings support regarding attachment?
The findings support Bowlby’s view that there is a sensitive period in the development of attachments.
What are the long-lasting effects of failing to form an attachment before 6 months?
It appears to have long-lasting effects if attachment is not formed before 6 months and after the age of 2 years.
What was the sample size of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project?
95 children aged 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care.
What was the control group size in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project?
50 children that had never been institutionalised.
How was attachment type measured in the study?
Using the strange situation and carers were asked about unusual social behaviours.
What percentage of the control group was securely attached?
74%
What percentage of the institutionalised group was securely attached?
19%
What percentage of the institutionalised group had disorganised attachment?
65%
What percentage of the institutionalised group had disinhibited attachment types?
44%
What did Gardner (1972) find regarding physical under-development?
The lack of emotional care leads to deprivation dwarfism.
How does emotional deprivation affect cognitive development?
Cognitive development is affected by emotional deprivation and can be reversed if adopted before 6 months.
What is disinhibited attachment?
A form of insecure attachment where a child treats a stranger with inappropriate familiarity and may be attention seeking.
What did Quinton (1984) find about women raised in institutions?
They experienced extreme difficulties acting as parents in their 20’s; their children went on to spend time in care.
What is a strength of the Romanian orphan studies regarding real-world application?
Most babies are adopted in the first couple of weeks of birth, showing that children and adoptive mothers can be as securely attached as non-adoptive families.
This has reduced the number of children’s homes and improved caregiver-to-child ratios.
How do Romanian orphan studies help in developing normal attachments?
The studies ensure a smaller caregiver-to-child ratio and assign a key worker, which helps children in institutional care develop normal attachments and avoid disinhibited attachment.
What advantage do Romanian orphan studies have over previous orphan studies?
They have fewer confounding variables, allowing for a clearer observation of the effects of institutionalization.
What is a counterargument regarding the internal validity of Romanian orphan studies?
There may be new confounding variables due to the poor quality of care, making it difficult to separate the effects of institutional care from those of poor institutional care.
What is a limitation of the Romanian orphan studies concerning adult development?
It is too soon to determine if children suffered permanent effects, as data on their development only extends to their early twenties.
What social sensitivity issue arises from the findings of the Romanian orphan studies?
Late-adopted children showed low IQ, which may affect how they are treated by parents and teachers, potentially creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What is a potential benefit of the Romanian orphan studies?
Much has been learned that could benefit future institutionalized or potentially institutionalized children, suggesting that the potential benefits outweigh the social concerns.
