romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation evaluation Flashcards
(p) one strength of this research is that it has led to real world improvements in the way children are cared for in institutions
(e)
● children’s homes now avoid having large numbers of children being cared for by one member of staff
(increased staff to children ratio)
● children now have one or two ‘key workers’ that play a central role in the child’s care to allow for a specific bond with that person
(c)
● this means that children in institutional care have a chance to develop normal attachments
● and disinhibited attachment is avoided
● they will have typical intellectual ability
(p) a limitation is that romanian orphan studies are extremely rare
(e)
● the conditions that were found in these orphanages were very poor
● especially when it came to forming any type of relationship with the children
● and is not typical of what is found in other orphanages around the world
(c)
● this is a limitation because the unusual situational variables makes the study lack generalisability
● children in other institutions may not experience the same long term effects as romanian orphans
(p) another limitation is the lack of data on adult development
(e)
● it is too soon to say for certain whether children suffered permanent effects because we only have data on their development as far as their early twenties
● it will be some time before we have information favour some key research questions
● e.g. how do these individuals parent their own children?
(c)
● therefore, there is no clear evidence to suggest whether the effects of institutionalisation are long term or short term
● it could also be the case that some children who struggled when younger may ‘catch up’ later in life
(p) another limitation is that there is research to contradict the importance of the critical period
(e)
● rutter found that romanian orphans adopted after the critical period (2 years) struggled to catch up emotionally and intellectually
● however, this is criticised by a study investigating czech twin boys who experienced extreme deprivation before being adopted at age 7
● even though they were developed after the critical period, they developed typically
(c)
● therefore, this suggests that some children can develop after 2 years
● so the ‘critical’ period is a ‘sensitive’ one instead
