Romanian Orphan Studies: Effects Of Institutionalisation Content Flashcards
What is the main study from this topic?
Rutter and Sonuga-Barke (2010)
Why were Romanian children sent to orphanages?
The communist regime in Romania led to overpopulation as contraception was banned, but the economy couldn’t supply for all these children. They were sent to orphanages
What were conditions like in the Romanian orphanages?
. Multiple in a cot
. Not fed properly
. Even older babies didn’t get own bed
. No emotional care
What is an orphan study?
The study of a child who has been placed in care as parents not longer able to care for them
What is institutionalisation?
Any effects of living in an institutional setting e.g orphanages, prisons, hospitals
How many studied in the ERA?
165 Romanian orphans adopted in the UK
What is another name for the Romanian orphans study?
ERA study - English and Romanian adoptees
What is Michael Rutter known as?
The ‘father of child psychiatry’
What was the aim of the Romanian orphan study?
To investigate to what extent would recovery be possible when extremely depriving conditions in early life were followed by generally good conditions in middle childhood
How were the Romanian orphans tracked in the study?
Longitudinally - over a long period of time
What was the experimental group (Romanian orphans) compared to?
A control group of 52 British children adopted before 6 months old
- hadn’t been in an institution
When were the groups of the ERA study first assessed?
At 4 years old
How often were the groups of children tested and how?
At 4, 6, 11 and 15 years old - regular intervals
Assessed using:
. Direct observations
. Psychometric assessments to assess physical, cognitive and social development
. Interviews with parents and teachers to gather extra information
How were the 165 Romanian orphans split into different groups of time of adoption?
58 babies adopted before 6 months
59 adopted between 6 months and 2 years
48 adopted between 2-4 years old
What is the research method of the ERA study?
Natural experiment