Institutionalisation (Rutter et al. 2011) - ATTACHMENT

Question 1

what does institutionalisation refer to

Answer 1

the effects of living in an institutional setting for a long, continuous period of time

Question 2

examples of institutional settings

Answer 2

hospital, orphanage etc - anywhere outside the family/ family home

Question 3

how much emotional care is provided in institutionalisation

Answer 3

very little

Question 4

in this attachment research, what are psychologists interested in

Answer 4

the effects of institutional care on children’s attachment and subsequent development

Question 5

what was the name of the study by Rutter et al (2011)

Answer 5

The Romanian Orphan Studies

Question 6

who do orphan studies concern

Answer 6

children placed in care

an orphan = parents who have died/abandoned them

Question 7

what did President Nicolae Ceausescu do concerning the amount of babies being born in Romania

Answer 7

encouraged Romanian women to have more children and banned abortion (1966)

Question 8

what was the reward for mothers having >5 babies

Answer 8

they got large tax cuts

Question 9

what did mothers who had >10 babies become known as

Answer 9

“heroine mothers”

Question 10

what were the consequences of poor Romanian families having large numbers of children

Answer 10

the families could not support the children

Question 11

when was Ceausescu overthrown

Answer 11

1989

Question 12

where were the unwanted children later discovered after the revolution

Answer 12

in government-run institutions (government-run orphanages)

Question 13

what had the orphans in government-run institutions experienced

Answer 13

far more than maternal deprivation

Question 14

what did the maternally deprived children in abandoned institutions allow the oppurtunity for

Answer 14

to study the total absence of the critical period

Question 15

what type of study was the Romanian Orphan Study (Rutter et al. 2001)

Answer 15

a longitudinal natural study

Question 16

what was the aim of the Romanian Orphan Study (2001)

Answer 16

to study the long-term effects of institutionalisation and maternal deprivation

Question 17

differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): attachment figures

Answer 17

IC - no attachment figure

FC - strong emotional attachment

Question 18

differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): stimulation of the child

Answer 18

IC - bored

FC - well stimulated

Question 19

differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): level of care

Answer 19

IC - not cared for well

FC - cared for well

Question 20

differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): socialisability and interaction

Answer 20

IC - less sociable and fewer interactions

FC - lots of socialising and many interactions

Question 21

differences between institutional care (IC) and family care (FC): toys

Answer 21

IC - fewer toys

FC - more toys

Question 22

seven effects of institutionalisation

Answer 22

physical underdevelopment
intellectual underfunctioning/ low IQ
poor parenting
disinhibited attachment
lack of internal working model
emotional functioning
quasi-autism

Question 23

how does physical underdevelopment affect a child

Answer 23

usually physically small (developmental dwarfism)

Question 24

how does intellectual underfunctioning/ low IQ affect a child

Answer 24

they show signs of intellectual disability disorder (Bowlby)

Question 25

how does poor parenting affect a child

Answer 25

women experienced extreme difficulties as parents

Question 26

how does disinhibited attachment affect a child

Answer 26

it is a form of insecure attachment where children are equally friendly towards people they know well and strangers

Question 27

how does the lack of the internal working model affect a child

Answer 27

they have difficulty interacting and forming relationships

Question 28

what is the effect of emotional functioning on a child

Answer 28

children in care can sometimes show affectionless psychopathy (Bowlby)

Question 29

conclusion of the study

Answer 29

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

Question 30

what did Rutter think the ‘critical period’ should be called instead

Answer 30

the ‘sensitive period’