Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation

Question 1

Institutionalisation

Definition

Answer 1

refers to the effect of growing up in an orphanage or children’s home (institutional environment). There is often lack of care

Question 2

Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation

Studies

Answer 2

Rutter’s ERA (English and Romanian Adoptee) study

The Bucharest early intervention project

Question 3

Rutter’s ERA (English and Romanian Adoptee) study

Person

Answer 3

Michael Rutter et al (2011)

Question 4

Rutter’s ERA (English and Romanian Adoptee) study

Procedure and findings

Answer 4

└Michael Rutter et al (2011)
└followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain
└to test what extent good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions
└physical, cognitive and emotional development assessed at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15
└control group of 52 British children adopted around the time

Findings
└when first arrived in UK
└half adoptees showed signs of development
└majority were severely undernourished
└mean IQ of those adopted (Beckett et al 2010)
└ <6 months =102
└ 6 months- 2 years =86
└ >2 years =77
└16 =differences remained
└children adopted after 6 months= signs of disinhibited attachment
└symptoms: attention seeking, clinginess, indiscriminate social behaviour towards all adults
└children adopted before 6 months= rarely displayed disinhibited attachment

Question 5

The Bucharest early intervention project

Person

Answer 5

Zeanah et al (2005)

Question 6

The Bucharest early intervention project

Procedure and findings

Answer 6

└Zeanah et al (2005)
└assessed attachment in 95 children aged 12-31 months who had spent most their lives in institutional care (90% average)
└compared to control group of 50 children who had never lived in an institution
└attachment type measured using the strange situation
└carers were also asked about unusual social behaviour (symptoms of disinhibited attachment)

Findings 
└control group results
  └secure: 74%
  └disinhibited attachment: <20%
└institutional group results
  └secure: 19%
  └disorganised attachment: 65%
  └disinhibited attachment: 44%

Question 7

Effects of institutionalisation

Answer 7

Disinhibited attachment

Mental retardation

Question 8

Effects of institutionalisation

Disinhibited attachment

Answer 8

└typical effect of institutionalisation
└equally friendly and affectionate towards people they know well and strangers- little stranger anxiety
└Rutter (2006)
└explained it as an adaption to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period for attachment formation
└in Romania may have 50 caregivers none of which they saw enough to make a secure attachment with

Question 9

Effects of institutionalisation

Mental retardation

Answer 9

└in Rutters study
└most children showed signs of retardation when they arrived in Britain
└must adopted before 6 months caught up with control group by age 4
└appears that, like emotional development, intellectual development can be recovered provided the adoption takes place before 6 months (the age at which attachments form)

Question 10

Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation
Strengths
Summary

Answer 10

Real life application - Langton 2006

Less extraneous variables

Question 11

Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation
Strengths
Real life application

Answer 11

└increased our understanding of the effects of institution
└led to improvements in child care in institutions (Langton 2006)
└e.g. orphanages/children’s homes avoid having many caregivers for each child
└instead have a key worker- for normal attachments, helps avoid disinhibited attachment

Question 12

Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation
Strengths
Less extraneous variables

Answer 12

└other orphan studies involved children who had experienced loss or trauma before they were institutionalised (neglect, abuse, bereavement)
└confounding participant variables
└increased internal validity as this was not the case with the Romanian orphans

Question 13

Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation
Limitations
Summary

Answer 13

Ethical issues
Romanian orphanages not typical
Long term affects not yet clear

Question 14

Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation
Limitations
Ethical issues

Answer 14

└Rutters ERA project
└methodological issue- children weren’t randomly assigned to the conditions
└children adopted early may have been more sociable ones- confounding variable
└In Bucharest early intervention project
└Romanian orphans randomly allocated to institutional care or fostering
└methodically better as removed confounding variable of which children are chose by parents
└raises ethical issues

Question 15

Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation
Limitations
Romanian orphanages not typical

Answer 15

└useful data however conditions were so poor results may not be able to be applied to understanding the impact of better quality institutional care/ any situation a child experiences deprivation
└Romanian orphanages had poor standards of care
└when forming any relationship with children
└extremely low levels of intellectual stimulation
└unusual situational variables mean studies may lack generalizability

Question 16

Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation
Limitations
Long term affects not yet clear

Answer 16

└studies followed up on orphans into mid-teens and found some lasting effects of early experience
└especially in those adopted late
└too early to say if children suffered short or long term effects
└children that spent longer in institutions may catch up (attachment/intellectually) as adults
└early adopted children may develop emotional issues as adults