Psych - Romanian Orphan Studies Flashcards
What are orphan studies?
Orphan studies are research investigations that focus on the effects of institutional care and deprivation on children who have been raised in orphanages.
What are the key procedures and findings of Rutter’s ERA (2011)?
Rutter et al. (2011) followed 169 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain, assessing their physical, cognitive, and emotional development at ages 4, 6, 11, and 15. Findings showed that half the adoptees had delayed intellectual development and were undernourished upon arrival. By age 11, IQ scores varied based on age of adoption: 102 for those adopted before 6 months, 86 for 6 months to 2 years, and 77 for after 2 years.
What are the key procedures and findings of The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (2005)?
Zeanah et al. (2005) assessed attachment in 95 children aged 21-31 months who spent most of their lives in institutions, compared to a control group of 50 children. They found that 74% of the control group were securely attached, while only 19% of the institutional group were securely attached, with 65% classified as having disorganized attachment.
What are the long-term effects of institutionalisation according to these studies?
Long-term effects include potential attachment issues and cognitive delays. Children adopted after 6 months showed signs of disinhibited attachment and may struggle with social behaviors.
How can the effects of institutionalisation studied via Romanian orphan studies be evaluated?
The effects can be evaluated by comparing the development of children adopted from institutions to those raised in typical family settings, assessing attachment styles, cognitive development, and emotional well-being.
What is disinhibited attachment?
Disinhibited attachment is characterized by children being overly friendly and affectionate towards both familiar and unfamiliar people, often due to having multiple caregivers in institutional settings.
How does disinhibited attachment differ from secure attachment?
Children with disinhibited attachment show minimal stranger anxiety and treat strangers similarly to caregivers, unlike securely attached children who exhibit anxiety towards unfamiliar individuals.
What are the implications of studying Romanian orphans for real-life applications?
The studies have led to improvements in institutional care, such as reducing the number of caregivers per child and implementing key workers to foster secure attachments.
What are the limitations of Romanian orphan studies?
The conditions in Romanian orphanages were particularly poor, which may limit the generalizability of findings to other contexts of institutional care.
What ethical issues arise from orphan studies?
Ethical issues include the lack of random assignment in Rutter’s ERA project, which may introduce confounding variables, and the potential negative impact on children’s well-being in the Bucharest project.
What is unclear about the long-term effects of early adoption?
It is uncertain whether children will experience short- or long-term effects from early institutionalization, as studies have only followed them into their mid-teens.
