psychology romanian orphan studies- institutionalisation Flashcards
what was rutters reearch
folowed group of 165 romanian orphans for many years as part of enligh and romanian adoptee study
orphan had been adopted by families in uk
aim of era investigate extent to which good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions
physical cog and emotional development has been assessed at ages 4 6 11 15 22 and 25
group of 52 children from uk adopted around same time have served as control group
when children first arrived in k half adoptees howed signs of delayed intellectual development and majority were severely undernourished
age of 11 adopted children showed differential rates of recovery that were related to their age of adoption
mean IQ of those childrne adopted before age 6 months was 102 compared with 86 for those adopted between six months and two years and 77 for those adopted after 2 years these differences remained at 16
there appeared to be difference in outcome related to whether adoption took place before or after six months, children adopted after six motnhs showe signs of particular attachment style called disinhibited attachment- attention seeking, clinginess and social behaviour directed indiscriminatly towards all adults both familiar and unfamiliar
those children adopted before six months rarely displayed disinhibited attachment
what was zeanahs research
conducted bucharest early intervention project assessing attachment in 95 romanian children 12-31 months who spent most of lives in care compared to control group of 50 children who had never lived in institution and attachment type measured using strange situation, carers asked about unusual social behaviour including clingy attention seeking behaviour directed inappropriately at all adults
researchers found 74% of control group classed as securely attahed in strange situation, only 19% of institutional group were securely attached, description of disinhibited attachment applied to 44% of institutionalised children as opposed to less than 20% of controls
what were the effects of institutionalisation
disinhibited attachment-children spent early lives in institution show signs of disinhibted attachment being equally friendly and effectionate towards familiar people and strangers, highly unusual behaviour remember that most children in their second year show stranger anxiety, rutter explained this as adaptation to living with multiple caregivers during sensitive period for attachment formation, poor quality institutions child might have 50 carers but doesnt spend enough time with any one of them to be able to form secure attachment
intellectual disability-rutters study most children showed signs of intellectual disability when arrived in britain, most of adopted before six months caught up with control group by age 4, like emotional development damage to intellectual development as a result of institutionalisation can be recovered provided adoption takes place before age of six months- attachment forms
why romanian orphan studies
former president required romanian women to have five children, many romanian parents couldnt afford to keep their children and the children ended up in huge orphanages in very poor conditions, after 1989 romanian revolution many of children were adopted some by british parents
what is real world application
application to improve conditions for children growing up outside their family home
studying romanian orphans improved psychologists understanding of the effects of early institutional care and how to prevent the worst of these effects- led to improvements in conditions experienced by looked after children
childrens home now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child, children tend to have one or two key workers who play central role in their emotional care
institutional care now seen as undesirable option for looked after children, considerable effort made to accomdoate such children in foster care to have adopted instead
children in institutional care have chance to develop normal attachments and disinhibited attachment avoided
what is fewer confounding variables
lack of confoudning variables
many orphan studies before romanian orphans
many of children studied in orphanages experienced varying degrees trauma and difficult to disentangle effects of neglect physical abuse and bereavement from those of institutional care
children from romanian orphanages had been handed over by loving parents who couldnt afford to keep them
results were less likely to be confounded by other negative early experiences- higher internal validity
tudying children from romanian orphanages might have intro different confounding variables
quality of care in institutions was poor with children receving very little intellectual stimulation or comfort
harmful effects seen in studies of romanian orphans may represent effects of poor institutional care rather than institutional care per se
what is the lack of adult data
current lack of data on adult development
latest data from era study looking at children in early to mid 20s, dont currently have data to answer some of the most interesting research questions about the long term effects of early institutional care
ersearch questions include the lifetime prevalence of mental health probelsm and pps success in forming and maintaining adult romantic and parental relationships
take long time to gather data because of longitudinal design of study
will be some time before we know more completely what the long term effects are for the romanian orpahns, possible that late adopted children may catch up
