Romanian Orphan Studies: Effects of institutionalisation

Question 1

What prompted research into institutionalisation

Answer 1

The failiure of the romanian orphanages, the government had previously banned contraception and abortion, leading to an influx of infants that the orphanages weren’t prepared for

Question 2

Who conducted a study on romanian orphans adopted in the UK

Answer 2

Rutter and Sonuga-Barke

Question 3

How many infants did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke’s study include

Answer 3

165 Romanian children who spent their early life in romainian institutions

Question 4

How many of Rutter and Sonuga-Barke’s children were adopted before the age of 2 years

Answer 4

111

Question 5

How many of Rutter and Sonuga-Barke’s children were adopted before the age of 4 years

Answer 5

54

Question 6

How did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke conduct their study

Answer 6

They tested adoptees at regular intervals to assess their physical, cognitive and social development as well as gathering information using interviews with parents and teachers

Question 7

Who did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke compare the romainan orphans to

Answer 7

A control group of 52 British children adopted in the UK before the age of six months

Question 8

What did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke find about the romainian children at the time of adoption

Answer 8

They lagged behind the control group on all measures, being classified as mentally retarded

Question 9

What did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke find at at the age of four years

Answer 9

Almost all Romanian children adopted before the age of six months had cought up to the British control group

Question 10

What happened to children in institutions past 6 months in Rutter and Sonuga-Barke’s study

Answer 10

Follow ups confirmed that significant defecits remained in those who stayed in institutional care past the age of six months. Many showed signs of disinhibited attachments and problems with peer relationships.

Question 11

What did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke find the effects of institutionalisation to be

Answer 11

Consequences are not-severe if the infant is given the opportunity to form attachments. If not the consequences can be severe

Question 12

Who conducted a longitudinal study on Romanian orphans adopted in canada

Answer 12

LeMare and audet

Question 13

What did LeMare and Audet find in their study

Answer 13

Differences in physical health between Romainan orphans and a control group disappeared in ten and a half years

Question 14

How many romanian orphans did LeMare and Audet study

Answer 14

36

Question 15

Who conducted a romanian based study and what did it include

Answer 15

Zeanah et al compared those who had spend 90% of their life in institutions with those who had never been institutionalised using a strange situation

Question 16

What did Zeanah find

Answer 16

Children institutionalised for 90% of their life showed signs of disinhibited attachment (obviously)

Question 17

What is disinhabited attachment

Answer 17

A sign of insecure (or no) attachment where children do not discriminate between the people they choose as attachment figures. They may treat near strangers with inappropriate familiarity and may be attention seeking

Question 18

What are the effects of institutionalisation

Answer 18

Physical Underdevelopment - found to be due to a lack of emotional care rather than nourishment, labelled deprivation dwarfism

Intellectual under functioning

Poor Parenting

Question 19

Who did a study on parenting by institutionalised people and what did they find

Answer 19

Quinton et al compared 50 women raised in an institution and 50 women raised at home and found that the institutionalised women experienced extreme difficulties acting as parents

Question 20

How do individual differences effect institutionalised children

Answer 20

Research has shown that some children are not as strongly afflicted as others. Rutter suggested that they may have received special treatment in the insititution, for example because they smiled more as an infant, which helped them cope better. Bowlby also found that individual differences matter in forming attachments, which could mean institutionalisation doesn’t necessarily lead to an inability to form attachments. This also makes the theory less deterministic, increasing motivation for those institutionalised

Question 21

Who suggested that individual differences do matter in forming attachments

Answer 21

Bowlby

Question 22

What other factors may be important in romanian institutionalisation studies

Answer 22

Deprivation was only one factor. The physcial conditions of Romanian orphanages were appaling, which would inevitably impacted their health. Similarly lack of cognitive stimulation would have affected development. Poor care in infancy is often followed by poor subsequent care, such as living in poverty. This shows how the effects of the institutions go far beyone attachment deprivation

Question 23

What is a strength of the research style of Romanian orphan studies

Answer 23

Many studies are longitudinal, following the kids over many years. Without this long term research conclusions could be drawn about major effects to early institutionalised care, when in the long term many of these effects disappear over time with high quality care. This research has shown that we cannot instantly assume institutionalisation leads to negative effects