Romanian Orphan Studies Flashcards
What is privation?
This is when the child had never had a chance to form an attachment bond with anyone
What is institutional care?
This is when children spent part of their childhood in a hospital, orphanage or a residential children’s home.
What was Rutter’s study on Romanian orphanages?
Rutter compared Romanian children who lived in orphanages who had been adopted by U.K. Families, with uk born children adopted by U.K. Families. The uk born children were adopted before the age of 6 months. The romanian children were placed into orphanages at 1-2 weeks and were then adopted.
58 of Romanian children were adopted before 6 months
59 were adopted between 6 months and 2 years
The children were followed up at ages 4, 6 and 11 years through interviews with family members teachers and observations
What were the findings of rutter’s study into Romanian orphans?
The children who were adopted by British families before 6 months showed normal emotional development when compared to U.K. Children
At age 6 rutter found evidence of disinhibited attachment which they defined as a persuasive pattern of attention seeking behaviours with a lack of selectivity. This means that the children will pick anyone as an attachment figure and try to get lots of attention
26% of Romanian orphans adopted 6 months - 2 years had a lot of disinhibition
What are the effects of institutionalisation?
Disturbed
Physical under development - deprivation dwarfism as a result of malnourishment
Intellectual under functioning - cognitive development is limited due to lack of stimulation and emotional support
Disinhibited attachment- a form of insecure attachment where they do it discriminate between attachment figures
What research supports rutter’s institutionalisation theory?
Hodges and Tizard observed children who were put into care before they were 4 months old and were either adopted or reunited with their original parents by age 4. They found that all the children studied suffered in their ability to form interpersonal relationships effectively. This suggests that the institutionalisation they experienced during the critical period resulted in their emotional problems during adulthood
This provides further evidence for the claims made by rutter that institutional care and the absence of an attachment figure causes a person to experience difficulty in adulthood
What research suggests that people can make a recovery from institutionalisation?
Koluchova studied the Czech twin boys whose mother died in 1960 when they were born. They were still cared for by a children’s agency then an aunt before going to live with their father and stepmother at 18 months old who severely neglected them. They were discovered at the age of 7 and wer severely under developed physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. At the age of 8 they were fostered by two sisters who’s high quality care enabled them to recover. By the age of 14 they were in a mainstream school and had normal iqs. They also married and had families, neither of them suffered long term adverse effects. This suggests that privation can be overcome regardless of the critical period passing which contradicts rutter
Why is the type of privation and institutionalisation a child faces flaws rutter’s research?
It is difficult to asses what the quality of care was like in the institution especially in Romania and the extent of privation each child suffered. This means that it is difficult to make comparisons between individual cases as each child will experience something very different. Thus we cannot say that all children who suffer either privation or institutionalisation will have the same effects as each child’s experience is unique
How can individual differences affect rutter’s study?
Turner and Lloyd said that damage only happens when there are other factors that go with institutionalisation such as child having an insecure attachment and lots of early separation. This suggests that pre existing problems that the child has could affect how well they cope meaning that institutionalisation may be flawed as we cannot control all aspects of a child’s life and other factors that can’t be controlled may have affected their development not the fact they were institutionalised
