Romanian Orphan Studies: Effects Of Institutionalisation

Question 1

Rutter’s study method

Answer 1

Longitudinal study of 165 Romanian orphans who had been adopted in UK after either spending less than or more than 6 months in an orphanage. Physical, emotional and intellectual development assessed at ages 4,6,11 and 25 and a group of children from the UK adopted around the same time acted as a control group

Question 2

Findings of Rutter’s study

Answer 2

-when the children first arrived in UK half were malnourished and had delayed intellectual development
-at 11, mean IQ of children adopted before 6 months was 102, 86 between six months and two years and 77 after two years, difference remained at age 16 (longer they were not adopted during critical period- more severe effects)
-those adopted after 6 months were likely to have disinhibition attachment- attention seeking and equally friendly and affectionate to familiar people and strangers(interacted with many adults in orphanage)

Question 3

Zeanah’s method

Answer 3

-assessed the attachment of 95 Romanian orphans aged 12-31 months who has spent 90% of their lives in care, compared to control group of 50 children who had never spent time in an institution
-using the strange situation they assessed their attachment type and interviewed carers asking about unusual social behaviours related to disinhibited attachment

Question 4

Findings of Zeanah’s study

Answer 4

44% of the Romanian orphans were classified as having a disinhibited attachment compared to control group where 75% were classified as securely attached

Question 5

Expand on strength that research has real life application

Answer 5

-smaller number of caregivers in institutions- help develop secure attachments
-practical value as helps avoid disinhibited attachment and promote secure IWM

Question 6

Expand on strength that research means can assess effects of institutionalisation in isolation

Answer 6

-removes EVs such as trauma, loss and bereavement
-increases internal validity meaning can be more confident that effects are the result of institutionalisation and not prior life experiences

Question 7

Expand on limitation that research was of an extreme case

Answer 7

-neglect was so severe in comparison to other institutions and orphanage conditions were significantly worse than typical orphanages
-cannot generalise findings, may tell us very little about the effects of institutionalisation and deprivation in other orphanages