Romanian Orphan Studies: Effects of Institutionalisation Flashcards
What are the aims of the Rutter ERA study?
Rutter and Sonuga-Barke wanted to investigate to what extent good care could make up for poor early experiences
Describe the procedure of the Rutter ERA study?
- Rutter and Sonuga-Barke longitudinally assessed a group of Romanian orphans, who spent their early lives in institutions. Physical, cognitive and emotional development was assessed at several ages.
- Orphans were either adopted before the age of 2 or by the age of 4. They were compared to a control group of British children adopted before the age of 6 months
- Attachment type was measured using the Strange Situation. Careers were also asked about clingy or attention-seeking behaviour (disinhibited attachment)
Describe the findings of the Rutter ERA study at the time of adoption
- At the time of adoption, Romanian orphans lagged behind their British counterparts on all measures of physical, cognitive and social development.
- They were smaller, weighed less and were classified as mentally retarded. By the age of 4, some had caught up with their British counterparts.
Describe the findings of the Rutter ERA study by the age of 11
- At age 11, the adopted children showed differential rates of recovery that were related to their age of adoption. The mean IQ of the children adopted before the age of 6 months was 102, compared with 86 for those adopted between 6 months and 2 years and 77 for those adopted after 2 years.
- Those adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited symptoms. While those adopted before the age of 6 months rarely displayed disinhibited attachment
What is the conclusion the Rutter ERA study?
Emotional development, damage to intellectual development as a result of institutionalisation can be recovered if adoption takes place before the age of 6 months - the age at which attachment forms
Describe Zeanah et al’s study as support
- Zeanah et al compared Romanian children who had, on average, spent 90% of their lives in an institution, to a control group of Romanian children who had never been in an institution.
- The children were aged 12-31 months and were assessed in the Strange Situation. The institutionalised children showed signs of disinhibited attachment
Describe physical underdevelopment as an effect of institutionalistion
- Children in institutional care are usually physically small.
- Gadner showed that lack of emotional care rather than poor nourishment is the cause of what has been called deprivation dwarfism
Describe intellectual under functioning as an effect of institutionalisation
- Cognitive development is affected by emotional deprivation
- Skodak and Skeels found that children who spent time in an insititution did poorly on an IQ test
Describe disinhibited attachment as an effect of institutionalisation
A form of insecure attachment where children don’t discriminate between people they choose as attachment figures. They will treat near-strangers with inappropriate familiarity and may be attention seeking
Describe poor parenting as an effect of institutionalisation
- Quinton et al compared a group of 50 women who had been reared in institutions with a control group of 50 women reared at home.
- When they were in their 20s, the ex-institutional women experienced extreme difficulties acting as parents.
Give evaluation for research into institutionalisation (real-life applications )
- It has helped us to understand the effects of institutionalisation and improve the outcomes of those in care
- In the past, mothers who were going to give up a baby for adoption were encouraged to nurse the baby for a significant period of time. By the time the baby was adopted the sensitive period for attachment may have passed, making it difficult to form secure attachments with a new mother
- Most babies now are adopted within the first week of birth and research by Singer et al shows that adoptive mothers and children are just as securely attached as non-adoptive families.
Give evaluation for research into institutionalisation (study was longitudinal)
- Rutter’s research was conduced longitudinally
- Longitudinal research allows us to follow the same group of individuals over a long period of time. This allows us to establish the long-lasting effects of institutionalisation. This is also better than comparing different insitutionalised groups at different ages as such research may be affected by individual differences; making comparison more difficult.
- Therefore we can be confident in validity of the findings from the Romanian Orphan studies due to the benefits from longitudinal research
Give evaluation for research into institutionalisation (confounding variables)
- Research was inevitably affected by confounding variables
- The standards of care in Romanian orphanages were appalling and are unlikely to represent other situations where children experience deprivation
- This is an issue as it means that the findings generated from research into institutionlisation may be explained by other factors; such as poverty and abuse, shown by Turner and Lloyd. This limits our understanding of the effects of institutionalisation that we can gain from such research
Give evaluation for research into institutionalisation (permanent effects)
- The view that consequences are permanent may be questioned
- One of the findings of the Rutter ERA study was that at age 11, a lower number of children had disinhibited attachment, Therefore ex-institutional children may simply need more time than normal to learn how to cope with relationships.
- Further support by Le Mare and Audet’s findings that physical underdevelopment had improved by age 11, suggesting that development does continue in these children
- This implies effects may just be slower development
