Roamnian Orphan Studies

Question 1

Define institutionalisation

Answer 1

The effect of institutional care, usually dependent on the time spent in the institution

Question 2

Outline Rutter’s research (2011)

Answer 2

• Find out if Romanian orphans adopted by British families could have the effects of institutionalisation reversed
• 165 Romanian orphans were IQ tested at age 4,6,11 and 15
  FINDINGS
  at Age 11
  Mean IQ 102 (adopted before 6 months)
  Mean IQ 86 (adopted 6 months—2yrs)
  Mean IQ 77 (adopted after 2yrs)
• 26% of romanian orphans showed disinhibited attachment whereas only 3.8% of the UK orphans
  CONCLUSION
• age adopted affects ability to recover

Question 3

What is Disinhibited attachment style

Answer 3

• The behaviour of someone who has grown up in an institution, overly friendly to a point that it’s inappropriate and affectionate
• no inhibition towards any behaviour

Question 4

Outline Zeanah et al. (2005)

Answer 4

• 136 Romanian children who had spent around 90% of their lives in institution
• strange situation used on them
• 65% showed disinhibited attachment
• suggests institutionalisation can lead to disinhibited attachment style

Question 5

List and explain the effect of institutionalisation

Answer 5

• Physical underdevelopment- children physically smaller due to lack of emotional care affecting growth hormones (deprivation dwarfism)
• Intellect- cognitive development affected by emotional deprivation
• poor parenting- women who had previously been in institutions found parenting hard (supported by Harlow)

Question 6

AO3 evaluate research into the effects of institutionalisation

Answer 6

• cannot establish cause and effect, confounding variable is that those adopted earlier socialised and became more intelligent rather than it being down to attachment
• lacks population validity, they all used Romanian orphans which may not be applicable to the whole population
• lots of real life applications, institutions changed how they are run

Question 7

what is the background behind the Romanian Orphan studies

Answer 7

• when the communist leader in Romania was overthrown it was discovered that there were thousands of orphans in institutions
• Rutter then took this opportunity to follow 165 of these orphans and compare them to UK orphans

Question 8

what real-life application does this research have

Answer 8

• adoption should ideally occur within the first 6 weeks of birth
• the conditions for orphans in institutions need to facilitate the development