romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation Flashcards
what is institutionalisation? (4)
● relates to the effect of living in an institution
● e.g. a hospital or orphanage
● where children live for long, continuous periods of time
● usually very little emotional care is provided in these places
what was the procedure of rutter et al’s study? (4)
● 165 romanian orphans who experienced very poor conditions before being adopted in the UK
● study tested extent to which good care can make up for poor early experiences in institutions
● longitudinal study
● physical, emotional and cognitive development assessed at 4, 6, 11, 15, 22-25 years
what were the findings of rutter et al’s study on intellectual development? (5)
● on arrival to UK, half of romanian adoptees showed delayed intellectual development
● at age 11, adopted children showed different rates of recovery related to age when adopted
● those adopted before 6 months had normal IQs (102)
● those adopted after 2 years had very low IQs (77)
● differences still evident at 16
what were the findings of rutter et al’s study on attachment type? (3)
● children adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment
● behaviours such as attention seeking and social behaviour, being friendly and affectionate towards familiar and unfamiliar adults
● however, children adopted before 6 months rarely showed this
what was the conclusion of rutter et al’s study? (3)
● findings support bowlby’s view that there is a critical period in the development of attachment
● a failure to form an attachment in the first 2 years appear to have lasting long term effects
● but, if adopted before 6 months, protected from effects of institutionalisation
what was were the findings of the bucharest early intervention project?
● 19% of the institutionalised group were securely attached, compared to 74% of controls
● 44% of institutionalised group had characteristics of disinhibited attachment, compared to 20% in controls
