7. Effects of Institutionalisation Flashcards
(25 cards)
Who criticised Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis
Rutter
What did Rutter criticise Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis for
Said Bowlby was confused w the term ‘deprivation’. He used it to refer to several things - separation from the mother, loss of the mother, & failure to develop an attachment w the mother. These things are now split into deprivation & privation.
What is privation
Where a child has never had an attachment to its mother or caregiver.
What is deprivation
Where an attachment was once formed but is now broken.
What did Rutter (1981) claim about maternal privation
- Claimed that the effects of maternal privation are more likely to be serious than the effects of maternal deprivation.
- Evidence for this comes from case studies of children who have suffered through difficult/cruel conditions. (Curtiss (1977))
Case study of Curtiss (1977)
The Case of Genie
Case of a girl who suffered extreme cruelty from her parents, & never formed any attachments. Her father kept her strapped to a high chair w a potty in the seat for most of her childhood. She was beaten if made any sounds & didn’t have chance to play w toys or other children.
She was finally discovered at 13yrs old. Physically underdeveloped & could only speak w animal-like sounds. After lots of help she later learned some language, but her social & intellectual skills never fully developed…
Roman orphan studies
- The fall of the communist regime in Romania during early 1900s allowed world to see the vast overcrowding in their orphanages.
- The orphans were fed, clothed & looked after, but lacked any form of sensitive care or any opportunity to from emotional attachments.
- Since then, various studies of Romanian orphans have enabled psychologists to look directly at impacts of privation.
- Studies of children raised in institutions (eg. orphanages) may provide more reliable data than case studies, as sample sizes are sm bigger.
What did Rutter et al (2007) do
A longitudinal study of Romanian orphans
Method of Rutter et al (2007)
111 Romanian orphans who were adopted by British families were compared w a group of 52 UK adoptees & followed over prolonged period. Some of the orphans were adopted before they were 6 months old & some were older than 6 months. Each child was assessed at ages 4, 6 & 11.
Results of Rutter et al (2007)
- The children who were younger than 6mo when they were adopted had the same level of emotional development as other UK children who were adopted at the same age.
- HOWEVER, Romanian orphans who were older than 6mo at adoption showed signs of insecure attachments & social problems.
- The UK children who were older than 6mo at adoption dint show the same problems.
Conclusions of Rutter et al (2007)
- The effects of privation can be reversed if an attachment starts to form BEFORE age of 6mo.
- Long-term effects are more permanent if attachment doesnt start to occur within 6mo.
- Maternal deprivation on its own doesnt cause permanent effects bc the UK adopted children had been separated but didn’t show any problems.
Evaluation of Rutter et al (2007): CONS
- Results w older children may be due to lack of any stimulation in the orphanage.
- Collected mainly qualitative data which, although detailed, is more difficult to create generalised laws or theories from.
Evaluation of Rutter et al (2007): PROS
- As a longitudinal study, Rutter was able to investigate the children over long period of time - results provide better insight into long-term effects of privation.
What did Hodges & Tizard (1989) do
Rutter et al’s research into institutionalisation built upon the research by Hodges & Tizard (1989) - studied early institutional care, children raised in institutions.
Method of Hodges & Tizard (1989)
A longitudinal study of 65 children who had been placed in a residential nursery before they were 4mo old. They hadn’t had the opportunity to form close attachments w any caregivers. By age 4yrs, some had returned to their birth mothers, some had been adopted, & some stayed in nursery.
Results of Hodges & Tizard (1989)
- At 16yrs old, the ADOPTED group had strong family relationships, although compared to a control group of children from a ‘normal’ home, they had weaker peer relationships.
- Those who stayed in NURSERY or returned to MOTHERS showed poorer relationships w family & peers than those who were adopted.
Conclusion of Hodges & Tizard (1989)
Children can recover from early maternal privation if they are in a good quality, loving env, although their social development may not be as good as children who have never suffered privation.
Evaluation of Hodges & Tizard (1989): PROS
- Natural exp - so high ecological validity
Evaluation of Hodges & Tizard (1989): CONS
- Sample was quite small & more than 20 children couldn’t be found at the end of study, so it’s hard to generalise results.
- Bc lots of institutionalised children are unfortunately often underfed & malnourished, w a lack of stimulation, it could be these factors that influence their behaviour, rather than lack of attachment itself.
What can long-term effects of institutionalisation
Bowlby’s study of the 44 juvenile thieves, Rutter et al’s (2007) study on Romanian orphans & others on institutionalisation & hospitalisation, have suggested that long-term effects of disrupted attachments can include:
1. Affectionless psychopathy
2. Anaclitic depression
3. Deprivation dwarfism
4. Delinquency
5. Reduced intelligence
Effects of institutionalisation: 1. Affectionless psychopathy
As seen in 44 juvenile thieves study
Effects of institutionalisation: 2. Anaclitic depression
Involving appetite loss, sleeplessness & impaired social & intellectual development
Effects of institutionalisation: 3. Deprivation dwarfism
Infants are physically underdeveloped due to emotional deprivation
Effects of institutionalisation: 4. Delinquency
Minor crimes committed by youths
