Attachment - institutionalisation Flashcards
Romanian orphans
what is institutionalisation
effects of living in an institution
what was Rutter et al research
-2011
- 165 Romanian orphans part of English and Romanian adoptee study
- orphans adopted by families in the UK
- aim to investigate the extent to which good care could make up for poor early experiences
- physical and emotional development assessed at 4,6,11,15,22-25
- 52 children adopted at the same time served as the control group
What did Rutter et al find
- mean IQ adopted before 6 months = 102
- mean IQ adopted between 6 months and 2 years = 86
- mean IQ adopted after 2 years = 77
- ADHD more common in 22-25 years
- adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment
what did Zenah et al research
- 2005
- Bucharest early intervention project
- assessed attachment in 95 Romanian children aged 12-31 months spent most of their life in institutions
- compared to a control group of 50
- attachment types measured using the strange situation
- carers asked about unusual social behaviour
what did Zenah et al find
- 74% of control group securely attached
- 19% of institution group securely attached
- 44% of institution had disinhibited attachment
what is disinhibited attachment
- friendly and affectionate towards familiar people and stranger - unusual behaviour
- attention seeking, clingy
what are the strengths of Romanian orphan studies
Real World Application
- improved psychologists understanding of the effects of institutionalisation and how to prevent them
- led to improvements in the conditions
- children’s homes avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child
- children have 1/2 key workers
Fewer confounding variables
- children in the studies experienced had trauma
- children had been handed over by loving parents who couldn’t afford to keep them
- results less likely to be confounded by other negative early experiences
what are the limitations of Romanian Orphan studies
Lack of Adult data
- cannot understand the long term effects of the data
- latest data ends in early 20s
Social sensitivity
- parents, teachers who may have lowered their expectations of the children based on data published
- children treated differently