C3 - Romanian orphan studies: Institutionalisation

Question 1

Rutter et al. (2011) English & Romanian adoptee study (ERA) - Procedure

Answer 1

• 165 Romanian orphans.
• Longitudinal study tests extent to which good care can make up for poor early experiences.
• Control group of 52

Question 2

Rutter et al. (2011) English & Romanian adoptee study (ERA) - Findings & Conclusions

Answer 2

• Adopted before 6m had mean IQ of 102
• Adopted after 2 years had mean IQ of 77
• Adopted after 6m had disinhibited attachment
• Support Bowlby’s ‘sensitive period’ in attachment

Question 3

Zeanah et al. (2005) Bucharest early intervention project (BEI) - Procedure

Answer 3

• SS assessing attachment in 95 Romanian insitutionalised chlidren
• Control group of 50 children

Question 4

Zeanah et al. (2005) Bucharest early intervention project (BEI) - Findings & Conclusions

Answer 4

• 19% secure attachment (74% controls)
• 44% disinhibited attachment (20% controls)

Question 5

Effects of insitutionalisation

Answer 5

Disinhibited attachment - Equally friendly to all
Damage to intellectual development - Intellectual disability, worse if adopted 6m+

Question 6

Evaluations of institutionalisation (SSL)

Answer 6

S - Real-world application
S - Fewer confounding variables than other research
L - Lack of data on adult development

Question 7

Evaluations of insitutionalisation - Real-world application (S)

Answer 7

• Results led to improvement of care of children
• Children’s homes have 1 or 2 key workers
• Insitutionalised children can develop normal attachments

Question 8

Evaluations of insitutionalisation - Fewer confounding variables than other research (S)

Answer 8

• Many orphan studies before, these kids experienced trauma before insitutionalisation
• Difficult to observe effects of insitutionalisation only, kids affected by other confounding variables
• We can now be sure that differences in these kids are result of institutionalised care (high internal validity)

Question 9

Evaluations of insitutionalisation - Lack of data on adult development (L)

Answer 9

• Not sure if kids suffered permanent effects, only have data up to 20s
• Some time until key questions answered (e.g. maintaining relationships)
• Studies havn’t yielded most important findings, some kids might ‘catch up’