Romanian Orphan Studies - Institutionalisation

Question 1

Institutionalisation

Answer 1

Living in a setting of little emotional care leading to disinhibited attachment (equally affectionate to familiar people and strangers) and intellectual disability

Question 2

Rutter (2011)

Answer 2

165 Romanian orphans adopted by families in the UK assessed for physical, cognitive and emotional development. At age 11 mean IQ of adoptees was 102 if <6 months, 77 if >2 years. Adoptees after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment

Question 3

Zeanah (2005)

Answer 3

Bucharest early intervention (BEI) project assessing attachment type in Romanian children using the Strange Situation. 74% of control group securely attached, 19% of institutionalised

Question 4

Strengths of Romanian orphan studies

Answer 4

• Real world application (eg. Improved psychologists understanding of effects of early institutional care, leading to improvement in conditions)
• Fewer confounding variables (eg. Handed over by loving parents who couldn’t afford to keep them so can distinguish)

Question 5

Limitations of Romanian orphan studies

Answer 5

• Lack of data on adult development (eg. Latest data looked at children in early 20s so cannot yet answer questions about lifetime effects on MH)
• Social sensitivity (eg. Late adopted children shown to have poor developmental outcomes so treated differently)