Romanian adoption studies Flashcards
What happened in Romania?
Former Romanian president had required women to have 5 children, and many parents could not afford to keep their children and many children ended up in orphanages
After the Romanian revolution of 1989, many of these children were adopted
What does institutionalisation mean?
Living in an institutional setting, like a hospital or an orphanage
When was Rutter’s study?
2011
What was Rutter’s procedure?
Longitudinal study of 165 Romanian orphans adopted by British families
Children split into 4 groups: 58 children under age of 6 months, 59 children between 6 and 24 months, 48 children over 48 months, 52 British adoptees (control group)
Each group assessed at 4, 6, 11, and 15 years old
What were Rutter’s findings?
Age 6- those adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment (overly friendly behaviour towards unknown adults)
Age 11- 54% still showed disinhibited attachment, significant difference between those before and after 6 months in terms of attachment style and IQ
Those adopted before 6 months showed signs of a secure attachment
What did Rutter conclude?
Adoption after first 6 months means child will have longer term effects of institutionalisation, however recovery is possible if they’re able to form attachments
This challenges Bowlby’s theory as it shows recovery is possible
Confounding variables?
Lack of confounding variables- orphans had, in the main, been handed over by loving parents who had no choice
Cause and effect?
Allowed psychologists to study cause and effect, as usually children being adopted have been neglected or harmed, but these orphans were not
Allocation?
Children not randomly allocated to conditions, so more sociable children could have been adopted first
External validity?
Quality of care was so poor in Romanian orphanages that it can’t be compared to others
Harmful effects seen in Romanian adoption studies may represent the effects of poor institutional care rather than institutional care in general- lacks external validity
