Romanian Orphans, influence of early attachment, maternal deprivation

Question 1

What is Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 1

–Confounding variables. The studies’ methodology was not matched when comparing countries. Confounding variables such as poverty, class and urban/rural make up can confound results. Environmental variables like the size of the room in the strange situation were not uniform. Therefore lacks internal validity in this respect.
–Imposing a test designed for one culture onto another. Strange situation developed in the USA, where a lack of affection is viewed as avoidance. However in Germany, this would be viewed as independence. So comparing cross cultural strange situations is pointless.
–Some of the sample sizes from the countries were small. Only one study from Sweden, China and UK which may not be able to be generalised.

Question 2

Separation and deprivation?

Answer 2

Separation only becomes a problem when the child becomes deprived of emotional care which can happen even if the mother is present.

Question 3

What are the consequences of maternal deprivation?

Answer 3

An inability to form attachments in the future, affectionless psychopathy, delinquency and problems with cognitive development

Question 4

What is affectionless psychopathy?

Answer 4

The inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others

Question 5

What is deliquency?

Answer 5

violations of the criminal law and other misbehavior committed by young people

Question 6

What is Bowlby’s critical period for maternal deprivation?

Answer 6

2 years, with risk up to five.

Question 7

Bowlby’s research aim?

Answer 7

To examine the link between maternal deprivation and affection less psychopathy.

Question 8

Bowlby’s research procedure?

Answer 8

-Sample of 44 criminals convicted of stealing, compared to 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed teenagers.
-Interviews and questionnaires about lack of affection, lack of remorse and empathy for their victims.
-The families also were interviewed to see if there was an early separation from the mothers.

Question 9

Bowlby’s research findings?

Answer 9

-Out of the 14 found affectionless psychopaths, 12 of them had early separation. Only 5 of the remaining 30 thieves had early separation.
-Only 2 out of the 44 non-thieves had experienced separation.
-Bowlby therefore concluded that prolonged separation in early life caused affectionless psychopathy.

Question 10

Strength of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 10

-Practical applications- Highlight the importance of positive attachment experiences which allows for greater stability in childcare. Children have assigned caregivers and hospital visiting hours/policies have been altered so young children can visit their mothers. Governments have provided more financial support for maternity and paternity leave, so infants can be with their parents full time.
-Levy et al (2003) shows that separating baby rats from their mothers for as little as a day has permanent social implications, though not other aspects.

Question 11

Limitations of Bowlby’s theory and research?

Answer 11

-The 44 thieves study is flawed as Bowlby designed the experiment himself. It may have been subject to investigator effects. Therefore the results may have been distorted by researcher confirmation bias.
-The conclusions are correlational. Bowlby found a relationship but did not prove that the separation was the cause. There may have been a third undefined variable.
-Retrospective recall might be inaccurate. Bowbly asked adolescent teenagers to recall separations so they may be inaccurate/distorted.
-Most attempts to replicate the 44 thieves study have failed to attain the same results. Lewis (1954) looked at 500 teenagers and found no association between early separation and later psychopathy.
-Oversimplified- Michael Rutter reviewed Bowlby’s research and highlighted the importance of different types of negative experiences in early life, which Bowlby fails to do so. Separation from figure, loss of attachment figure and a complete lack of attachment (privation). Rutter argues that these different scenarios have different consequences.
-Evidence for a longer critical period (Czech twins).W

Question 12

What does the Czech twins study show?

Answer 12

-Isolated in their cellar from 18 months to 7 years.
-When they were discovered they had no speech and communicated with gestures.
-By their teens they had fully recovered with the help of a loving foster home.
-They were intellectually above average and were able to have long term relationships.
-Effects of privation/deprivation can be revered.
-So more of a sensitive period.

Question 13

What did Bowlby suggest about early infleunce?

Answer 13

Bowlby suggested that a baby’s first relationship with the primary attachment figure creates a mental representation of their future relationships.
-Babies who have a loving first relationship, will actively seek out functional relationships and behave functionally within them.

Question 14

Impact of secure attachment?

Answer 14

trusting and caring relationship

Question 15

Impact of insecure avoidant?

Answer 15

Detached and distanced.

Question 16

Impact of insecure resistant?

Answer 16

Clingy, emotional and needy

Question 17

Impact of insecure disorganised?

Answer 17

unpredictable, eratic and abusive.

Question 18

Impact of insecure disinhibited?

Answer 18

cheating and inappropriate relationships.

Question 19

Impact on childhood relationships?

Answer 19

Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood.

Question 20

Wilson and Smith 1998?

Answer 20

1998
Used questionnaires to test attachment type and bullying involvement
196 children aged 7-11 rom London
Secure children very unlikely to be involved in bullying
Insecure avoidant most likely to be victims and insecure resistant most likely to be bullies

Question 21

Hazan and Shaver?

Answer 21

They found that adults’ love relationships paralleled the three patterns of attachment seen in infants.
-620 replies to a questionnaire in a newspaper. Questionnaire assessed current relationship, general experience of love and the early attachment type they had.
-56% secure and had long lasting relationships.
-25% insecure avoidant who were jealous and had fear of intimacy.
-19% insecure resistant who believed love was rare and struggled to maintain relationships.

Question 22

Hazan and Shaver evaluation?

Answer 22

self report method could have social desirability, or leading questions so lower external validity. Retrospective data could be flawed memories. Volunteer bias and specific to the area of newspaper.

Question 23

Bailey et al 2007?

Answer 23

Considered attachments of 99 mothers to their babies and to their own mothers.
Mother baby attachment was assessed using the strange situation and mother’s attachment to own mother was assessed by an interview.
Majority of women had the same classification

Question 24

Strengths of influence of early attachment?

Answer 24

Research support- Reviews of the above research have concluded that early attachment consistently predicts later attachment and emotional wellbeing. The strength of these relationships depends on both the attachment type and later development.

Question 25

Limitations of influence of early attachment?

Answer 25

-Overly deterministic- As we have no control over our childhood experiences, it suggests that if we have negative attachment in childhood we are doomed to be unsuccessful adults. This is contradicted by numerous examples.
-Retrospective assessment- Asking questions relies on the honesty and reliability of participants, but also makes it hard to know if early attachment or current attachment is being assessed.
-Confounding variables- For example, parenting style may have affected both attachment type and later development. Also genetically influenced personality could influence both factors. Therefore we cannot be entirely sure whether it is early attachment or other factors.
-Correlation results do not prove a causation.

Question 26

What is an institution?

Answer 26

A place in which a group of people will stay in for an extended period of time over time e.g. prison, school or the workplace

Question 27

What is institutionalisation?

Answer 27

The effects upon attachment of care provided by orphanages/ Children’s homes.

Question 28

What were the Romanian orphanage like?

Answer 28

-Dictator Ceaucescu ordered Romanian women to have five children and if they were not able to look after them, they were encouraged to hand them to the state.
-After the revolution in 1989, many orphans were adopted by British families, giving psychologists the opportunity to study the effects of institutionalisation.
-Basic needs were not attended to, they were beaten and it meant Romanian families had no stigma abandoning their children.

Question 29

What are the effects of institutionalisation?

Answer 29

Physical underdevelopment
Intellectual under functioning
Disinhibited attachment
Poor parenting

Question 30

What is indiscriminate attachment?

Answer 30

Insecure attachment where children do not discriminate between people they choose to attach to. This can cause overfriendliness and attention seeking.

Question 31

What study supports cognitive underdevelopment?

Answer 31

Skodak and Skeels studied children in institutions. They found that they scored poorly on intelligence tests, but when moved to another institution with more emotional care, IQ improved by 30 points.

Question 32

What study supports poor parenting?

Answer 32

Harlow’s monkeys showed that maternal deprivation led to difficulty parenting. Quienten et al 1984- compared 50 institutionalised and 50 non-institutionalised mothers. The institutionalised had extreme difficulties parenting.

Question 33

What study supports physical underdevelopment?

Answer 33

Physical underdevelopment- Gardener 1972 showed that lack of emotional care causes ‘deprivation dwarfism’ as well as poor nourishment.

Question 34

Rutter aim?

Answer 34

To assess the long term effects of early institutionalisation.

Question 35

Rutter procedure?

Answer 35

-Followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain and compared them to a British adoptee control group of 52 children.
-Physical, emotional and cognitive development were tested at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15.

Question 36

Rutter findings?

Answer 36

-When they arrived in the UK, the majority were severely malnourished and 50% showed delayed intellectual development.
-At age 11- those who were adopted before six months had IQ 102. Those adopted between six months and two years had an IQ of 86. Those adopted after two had an IQ of 77.
-These differences remained at 16.
-Those adopted after six months showed signs of disinhibited attachment.

Question 37

Rutter evaluation?

Answer 37

Strengths:
-Longtitudinal study, meaning they were able to look at the long term effects of institutional care on children and they looked at the children in lots of detail.
Weaknesses:
-Children were not randomly assigned to the conditions. The children adopted earlier could have been more sociable. Therefore confounding variables could have affected the results.
-The severity of the Romanian orphanages was so bad that it is possible that it cannot be generalised to other institutions.

Question 38

The Bucharest Early Intervention Project procedure?

Answer 38

Zeenah et al 2005
-95 children aged 12-31 months who had spent more than 90% of life in institutions were compared to 50 fostered children.
-Attachment type was measured in the strange situation and carers described unusual behaviour.

Question 39

The BEAP findings?

Answer 39

-Control group: 74% secure. 20% showed signs of disinhibited attachment.
-Institution: 19% secure. 65% were disorganised attachment. 44% showed signs of disinhibited attachment.

Question 40

The BEAP evaluation?

Answer 40

Were randomly assigned but this raises ethical issues of allocating children to institutions.

Question 41

Strengths of Romanian Orphan studies?

Answer 41

• REAL LIFE APPLICATION
  We have a better understanding of the effects of Institutionalization. This understanding has lead to improvements to how children are cared for. For example, having a defined number of caregivers, instead of a large rotated amount.
• FEWER EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES
  There were many studies before the Romanian Orphan Studies. However, the children studied in these had often suffered trauma beforehand.This means there were more confounding participant variables that meant it was difficult to observe the effects of institutionalization. In the Romanian Orphan studies, the children didn’t have these variables, so it had higher internal validity.

Question 42

Weaknesses of Romanian orphan studies?

Answer 42

• issues with generalisability
  possible that conditions were so bad, results cannot be applied to understanding the impact of better quality institutional care or any situation where children experience deprivation.
  Romanian orphanages had poor standards of care, especially in forming any relationship with the children, & extremely low levels of intellectual stimulation.
  this is a limitation of the Romanian orphan studies because the unusual situational variables mean the studies may lack generalisability.
• the long-term effects of early experience are not yet clear
  it is too soon to say whether children suffered long-term effects, adopted Romanian orphans have only been followed into their mid-teens.
  meaning early-adopted children who appear to have no issues now may experience emotional problems as adults.