effects of institutionalisation

Question 1

what is institutionalisation?

Answer 1

concerns the effects on attachments of care provided by orphanages and children’s homes
influenced much of bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis

Question 2

what is institutional care?

Answer 2

-involves distinctive patterns of attachment behaviour (so can be seen as a phenomenon)
-involves a mix of deprivation and privation

Question 3

what is disinhibited attachment?

Answer 3

-clingy, attention seeking infants, indiscriminate sociability to adults, a result of institutionalisation

Question 4

what are the 5 effects of institutionalisation?

Answer 4

-affectionless psychopathy
-anaclitic depression
-

Question 5

research on institutionalisation

Answer 5

-spitz - anaclitic depression - South American orphanage that gave no affection or toys
-goldfarb - children raised in iso from 6m - 3 1/2y, at 10-14 they had an IQ of 72, compared to a control group that went straight from mother to foster home IQ 95
-rutter 2006 - the multiple carers in homes led to forming disinhibited attachments

Question 6

bowlby’s 44 thieves study

Answer 6

-1944
-studied 44 juvenile thieves (against a control group of non-thieves with emotional problems)
-32% of the thieves showed affection less psychopathy
-none of the control group showed this
-86% of the affection less psychopaths had suffered maternal separation compared to 17% who weren’t affection less psychopaths
-shows negative long-term effects

Question 7

tizard and Hodges 1978 research

Answer 7

-studied children placed in institutional care by 4m/o, they were private bcs they didn’t form attachments with mothers
-high staff turnover prevented attachment formation
-children who remained in institutions had problems relating to peers
-adopted children had strong attachments with parents but not with anyone else
-restored children had poor family and peer relationships and behavioural problems
-shows long lasting effects

Question 8

evaluate institutionalisation

Answer 8

-methodological flaws in research of institutionalised children, eg goldfarb’s study didn’t use random samples, so the fostered children may have been naturally brighter which is why they were fostered
-institutions provide unstimulating environments which may be what caused retarded development rather than lack of maternal care
-tizard and Hodges study kids may have been fostered because they were more socially skilled, also suffered from atypical sample attrition (over time a certain type of ps drop out)