Romanian orphan studies: institutionalisation Flashcards
Institution meaning:
institutionalised meaning:
Institution- a hospital like place where a child lives for a long period of time, usually not taken good care of.
institutionalised- the effect of living in an institution, deindividualisation
AO1: key studies of children raised in institutions
sample: longitudinal study on 165 Romanian children (previously lived in institutions), 100 were adopted before age of 2 (during the sensitive period) and the rest adopted by age 4 (after the sensitive period) compared to 52 british children adopted by age of 6 months.
findings: The orphans showed a disinhibited attachment. At time of adoption, the Romanian children were behind the British children and were classed as mentally retarded. By 4, the Romanian children who had been adopted by 6 months caught up however the ones adopted after 6 months did not and had difficulties with peer relationships
AO1: early intervention project
assessed the attachment in 95 children aged between the critical period (12 to 31 months) who had spent 90% of their life in an institution and compared them to a control group who spent their life in a ‘normal family’. attachment type measured using strange situation.
findings: majority of control group was securely attached and majority of the institutionalised group was disorganised attachment (mixture between avoidant and resistant)
effects of institutionalisation
disinhibited attachment- the child doesn’t seem to prefer their parents over other people. They seek comfort and attention from anyone
intellectual disability / mental retardation (low IQ)
AO3: strength- research was longitudinal
However, only followed up till teens
P: rutters study was longitudinal
E: took place over many years allowing them to asses short term and long term effects.
E: this means cause and effect can be established between institutionalisation and its effects
L: the results of the romanian orphan studies appear to be a valid representation of the effects.
HOWEVER, the follow ups on the orphans were only into their teens. Meaning it is too soon to say with certainty whether institutionalisation will have long term effects
AO3: strength- high ecological validity
however, children not randomly assigned
P: rutters study was high in ecological validity
E/E: because all the orphans were studies in their real life environment and the psychologist didn’t manipulate any of the conditions ( didn’t decide which of the children were going to be adopted earlier or later)
L: the research into romanian orphans can be generalised to other children in institutions
HOWEVER, children weren’t randomly assigned to conditions. As the researcher’s didn’t interfere with the adoption process. Meaning the ones that got adopted first could have been more social, this is a confounding variable. reduced internal validity
AO3: strength- led to real world applications
P: study on institutionalisation has lead to real world studies
E: enhanced out understanding of the effects of institutionalisation. Leading to the improvements in the way children are cared for in them
E: they now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child and ensure they have a key worker. Meaning the children can develop normal attachments
L: shows the research into romanian studies is very valuable in practical terms
AO3: limitation- deprivation is only one factor in development
P: deprivation is only one factor in development
E: the orphans experienced little mental stimulation and were often malnourished
E: suggests there are multiple risk factors involved in establishing the effects
L: therefor difficult to interpret the results of the studies as the sole effect of deprivation
