Romanian Orolphan Studies

Question 1

Institutionalisation def

Answer 1

A term for the effects o living in an institutional setting. The term institution refers to a place like a hospital or an orphanage where children live for long, continuous periods of times. In such places there is often very little emotional care provided. In attachment research we are interested in the effects of institutional care on children’s attachment and subsequent development

Question 2

Orphan studies def

Answer 2

These concern children placed in care because their parents cannot look after them. An orphan is a child whose parents have either died or have abandoned them permanently

Question 3

Rutters English and Romanian adoptee study

Procedure

Answer 3

2011 have followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain to test to what extent good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions. Psychical, cognitive and emotional development ha been assessed at ages 4,6,11 and 15 years. A group of 53 British children adopted around the same time have served as a control group

Question 4

Rutters English and Romanian adoptee study

Findings

Answer 4

• the children adopted after 6 months showed signs of a particular attachment style called disinhibited attachment. (Seeking, Clinton was, social behaviour indiscriminately)
  In contrast to those children adopted before the age of 7 months rarely described as disinhibited attached

Question 5

The Bucharest early intervention protect

Procedure

Answer 5

Zeanah et al 2005 assessed attachment in 95 children aged 12-31 months who has spent most of their lives in institutional care. 90%. They were compared with 50 kids never been in care.
Attachment type measured by SS

Question 6

The Bucharest early intervention protect

Findings

Answer 6

74% of control group were securely attached
19% of institutional group were securely attached
65% were disorganised attached

Question 7

Disinhibited attachment def

Answer 7

Typical effect of spending time in an institution. They are equally friendly and affectionate towards people they know well or who are strangers that they have just met. This is highly unusual behaviour

Question 8

Mental retardation def

Answer 8

In rutters study most children showed signs of retardation they arrived in Britain. However most of those were adopted before they were 6 months aught up with the control group by age four.

Question 9

Evaluation real life application

Answer 9

Studying Romanian orphanages and seeing the effects of institutionalisation have led to improvements within care institutions and care environments
Eg having a key worker to ensure that children have one continuous attachment with one reliable figure to allow proper development

Question 10

Evaluation fewer extraneous variables than other orophan studies

Answer 10

In the case of Romanian orphans, it has been possible to study institutionalisation without these confounding variables which means the findings have increased internal validity

Question 11

The Romanian orphanages were not typical

Answer 11

Although useful data about institutionalisation has come out of Romanian orphan studies, it is possible that the conditions in these environments were so bad thay retuks cannot be applied to understanding the impact of better quality institutional care or indeed any situation where children experience deprivation
Lack generalisability