Romanian Orphan Studies: Effects of institutionalisation Flashcards
What prompted research into institutionalisation
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
Who conducted a study on romanian orphans adopted in the UK
Rutter and Sonuga-Barke
How many infants did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke’s study include
165 Romanian children who spent their early life in romainian institutions
How many of Rutter and Sonuga-Barke’s children were adopted before the age of 2 years
111
How many of Rutter and Sonuga-Barke’s children were adopted before the age of 4 years
54
How did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke conduct their study
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
Who did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke compare the romainan orphans to
A control group of 52 British children adopted in the UK before the age of six months
What did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke find about the romainian children at the time of adoption
They lagged behind the control group on all measures, being classified as mentally retarded
What did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke find at at the age of four years
Almost all Romanian children adopted before the age of six months had cought up to the British control group
What happened to children in institutions past 6 months in Rutter and Sonuga-Barke’s study
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.
What did Rutter and Sonuga-Barke find the effects of institutionalisation to be
Consequences are not-severe if the infant is given the opportunity to form attachments. If not the consequences can be severe
Who conducted a longitudinal study on Romanian orphans adopted in canada
LeMare and audet
What did LeMare and Audet find in their study
Differences in physical health between Romainan orphans and a control group disappeared in ten and a half years
How many romanian orphans did LeMare and Audet study
36
Who conducted a romanian based study and what did it include
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
What did Zeanah find
Children institutionalised for 90% of their life showed signs of disinhibited attachment (obviously)
What is disinhabited attachment
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
What are the effects of institutionalisation
Physical Underdevelopment - found to be due to a lack of emotional care rather than nourishment, labelled deprivation dwarfism
Intellectual under functioning
Poor Parenting
Who did a study on parenting by institutionalised people and what did they find
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
How do individual differences effect institutionalised children
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
Who suggested that individual differences do matter in forming attachments
Bowlby
What other factors may be important in romanian institutionalisation studies
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
What is a strength of the research style of Romanian orphan studies
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
