Institutionalisation (Rutter et al. 2011) - ATTACHMENT Flashcards
what does institutionalisation refer to
the effects of living in an institutional setting for a long, continuous period of time
examples of institutional settings
hospital, orphanage etc - anywhere outside the family/ family home
how much emotional care is provided in institutionalisation
very little
in this attachment research, what are psychologists interested in
the effects of institutional care on children’s attachment and subsequent development
what was the name of the study by Rutter et al (2011)
The Romanian Orphan Studies
who do orphan studies concern
children placed in care
an orphan = parents who have died/abandoned them
what did President Nicolae Ceausescu do concerning the amount of babies being born in Romania
encouraged Romanian women to have more children and banned abortion (1966)
what was the reward for mothers having >5 babies
they got large tax cuts
what did mothers who had >10 babies become known as
“heroine mothers”
what were the consequences of poor Romanian families having large numbers of children
the families could not support the children
when was Ceausescu overthrown
1989
where were the unwanted children later discovered after the revolution
in government-run institutions (government-run orphanages)
what had the orphans in government-run institutions experienced
far more than maternal deprivation
what did the maternally deprived children in abandoned institutions allow the oppurtunity for
to study the total absence of the critical period
what type of study was the Romanian Orphan Study (Rutter et al. 2001)
a longitudinal natural study
what was the aim of the Romanian Orphan Study (2001)
to study the long-term effects of institutionalisation and maternal deprivation
differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): attachment figures
IC - no attachment figure
FC - strong emotional attachment
differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): stimulation of the child
IC - bored
FC - well stimulated
differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): level of care
IC - not cared for well
FC - cared for well
differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): socialisability and interaction
IC - less sociable and fewer interactions
FC - lots of socialising and many interactions
differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): toys
IC - fewer toys
FC - more toys
seven effects of institutionalisation
physical underdevelopment intellectual underfunctioning/ low IQ poor parenting disinhibited attachment lack of internal working model emotional functioning quasi-autism
how does physical underdevelopment affect a child
usually physically small (developmental dwarfism)
how does intellectual underfunctioning/ low IQ affect a child
they show signs of intellectual disability disorder (Bowlby)
how does poor parenting affect a child
women experienced extreme difficulties as parents
how does disinhibited attachment affect a child
it is a form of insecure attachment where children are equally friendly towards people they know well and strangers
how does the lack of the internal working model affect a child
they have difficulty interacting and forming relationships
what is the effect of emotional functioning on a child
children in care can sometimes show affectionless psychopathy (Bowlby)
conclusion of the study
long-term consequences may be less severe if opportunity to form attachment is there
children can recover, and they may have slower development rather than irreversible damage
what did Rutter think the ‘critical period’ should be called instead
the ‘sensitive period’
