Romanian orphan studies, effects of institutionalisation Flashcards
Whos research did Rutter have problems with
had some issues with Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis. Rutter suggested that it may be more appropriate to study privation (lack of attachment) rather than deprivation (loss of attachment).
What did Rutter suggest
suggested that it may be more appropriate to study privation (lack of attachment) rather than deprivation (loss of attachment).
This suggestion is supported by evidence based on longitudinal studies of children raised in institutional care who experienced privation. Institutional care means being brought up in a children’s home or an orphanage rather than within a family. In the past such institutions offered little in the way of individual attention or emotional care so children were unlikely to form attachments. Institutions today try to avoid this; however, in some countries limited resources mean that it still may not be possible to offer the level of emotional care that children need.
What do some psychologists believe that not forming an attachment during the first 2 or 3 years of life will cause
means that a child will be unable to form any close relationships at all in the rest of their life and that they would experience permanent emotional, social and cognitive problems. The effect of institutional care can be referred to as institutionalisation.
What event in Romania offered psychologists an opportunity to study the effects of institutional care
From 1966 to 1989, the Romanian government attempted to increase the population by forcing women to have many children. This resulted in many families having children that they couldn’t care for and more than 100,000 orphans being cared for in state-run orphanages.
Research: Rutter et al
Aim: to investigate the effects of institutional care on the physical, cognitive
and social development of children.
Procedure:
This natural experiment involved the study of 165 Romanian children who spent their early lives in orphanages before being adopted by British families. Some of the children spent longer in the institutions than others (ie were adopted later). Their physical, social and cognitive development was assessed at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15. They were compared to a control group of British children adopted in the UK around the same time.
Findings:
At the time of adoption, the Romanian orphans’ development was behind that of the British group. They were smaller, weighed less and had significant cognitive impairment.
Almost all the Romanian children who were adopted before the age of 6 months caught up with the British group in terms of their physical and cognitive development. It was very rare for this group of children to exhibit a disinhibited attachment and their mean IQ score was 102 (100 is average)
Many of the Romanian orphans adopted after the age of 6 months old showed disinhibited attachment (NOT a ‘type’ of attachment but a disorder whereby a child shows behaviours such as attention seeking behaviour towards all adults, lack of fear of strangers, inappropriate physical contact, lack of checking back to the parent in stressful situations, etc) and had problems with peers. This effect was most pronounced in those children who were adopted after 2 years, with much more common incidence of a disinhibited attachment, and an average IQ score of 77.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that institutionalisation can have some short term negative effects.
These effects may persist long term, in particular where children do not have the opportunity to form a substitute attachment.
Where children have the chance to form substitute attachments, especially before the age of 6 months, development may be normal.
Research: Zeanah et al
This study compared the attachment types (using the Strange Situation) of a group of Romanian children aged 12-31 months who had spent about 90% of their lives in an institution to a control group of Romanian children who had never been in an institution.
74% of the control group were assessed as being securely attached compared to only 19% of the institutionalised group.
44% of the institutionalised group were assessed as showing disinhibited attachment compared to less than 20% of the control group.
effects of institutionalisation
- Disinhibited attachment (Rutter et al and Zeanah et al)
- Problems with their peers (emotional and social problems) (Rutter et al)
- Physical underdevelopment (Rutter et al)
- Cognitive impairment (Rutter et al)
- Lack of a secure attachment (Zeanah)
- Problems with language
Evaluation of research into the effects of institutionalisation, strength
A strength of this research is that the findings have practical applications. Rutter’s findings have led to changes in adoption policies and practices. For example, in the past mothers were encouraged to feed their babies for some time before giving them up whereas today most babies are adopted in the first week of birth. This is a strength because the research has been used to improve the lives of children and families in the real-world.
Evaluation of research into the effects of institutionalisation, criticism
However there are methodological issues with many of these Romanian orphan studies.
One issue is that of confounding variables. The research focus was on the effects of the emotional deprivation experienced in institutions due to the lack of emotional care, but the Romanian orphans were faced with much more than this. They were also subjected to poor physical conditions and a lack of cognitive stimulation. This is a weakness because we cannot confidently say that any long-term consequences found by Rutter or other researchers were due to the lack of early attachment bonds or these other factors.
Another issue is that the sample is unrepresentative of the target population. All of the Romanian orphans in Rutter’s study were adopted but not all institutionalised children are adopted. The adopted orphans may have been chosen by their adoptive families because they were coping better with the effects of institutionalisation and therefore looked happier and healthier. This is a weakness because the conclusion that long-term consequences of institutional care may be less damaging than once thought, might not be true for every child who has experienced institutional care.
- A further criticism is that Rutter conducted a longitudinal study and this type of research often suffers from attrition. Rutter’s original sample of Romanian orphans reduced over time as some participants withdrew from the study. It is possible that the children who withdrew from the study were those who were struggling to form attachments in their families. This leads to a biased sample as the participants that remain do not display a representative reflection of the effects of institutionalisation. This is a weakness because the findings can’t be generalised to all Romanian orphans because we can’t be sure that they would be affected by institutional care in the same way.
