Extreme Deprivation

Question 1

English-Romanian Adoption Studies: Beckett et al (2006)

What happened to children who were adopted after 6 months of deprivation?

Answer 1

Had:

• Substantially lower IQs
• emotional & behavioural issues
• difficulties in social interactions with people outside their families
• more likely to be victims of bullying/exclusion at school
• some presented impaired ToM

Question 2

What are the overall conclusions of English-Romanian Adoption Studies?

Answer 2

• If children are adopted before the age of 6 months, there is evidence children will demonstrate resilience & catch-up
• Children adopted after the age of 6 months show development but they never catch up with controls
• Children adopted after 2 years present some development but severe cognitive & social limitations

Question 3

Outline the deprivation that Genie Wiley faced.

Answer 3

Kept in isolation in a dark room from birth to 13 years old.

• was never spoken to
• spent her days strapped to a potty chair and nights strapped to her bed

Question 4

Describe the state Genie Wiley was in when she was found

Answer 4

• Was the size of a 6 year old
• Could not walk
• Couldn’t talk (muttered infantile noises)
• Still wore nappies

Question 5

What happened to Genie Wiley after she was discovered?

Answer 5

She was taken into care, and seen by scientists/teachers/therapists

• she began to rapidly learn words & wanted to engage with the world
• BUT could never develop language - couldn’t form sentences or have conversations

At age 18 briefly lived with mother but mother couldn’t cope, so was moved around care homes & homes of scientists/therapists

• Scientists/therapists were banned from contacting her due to conflict of interest worsening Genie’s condition
• Now lives in a care home for adults

Question 6

Describe Oxana Malaya’s deprivation

Answer 6

• Parents were alcoholics
• When she was 3 they left her outside all night, she crawled into a dog kennel to keep warm
• Lived with dogs between ages 3 and 8
• When discovered she behaved like a dog

Question 7

What happened to Oxana Malaya after she was discovered?

Answer 7

Started having lessons for human development:

• how to walk on feet
• how to eat with hands
• how to speak
• how to tell time

Now lives in a home for mentally ill because doesn’t behave ‘normally’

Question 8

Describe the state that Daniele was found in in 2005.

Answer 8

• 8 years old
• weighed roughly 40lbs
• covered in rashes, insect bites & her own filth
• unable to walk or talk
• was wearing a nappy that appeared to have been soiled for a long time

Question 9

What happened to Daniele after she was found in 2005?

Answer 9

• Was adopted
• Now goes to a high school
• isn’t very sociable with peers but is with teachers & adoptive father
• doesn’t respond well to female adults due to being mistreated by mother
• when she eats she will keep eating until she is sick if she can - doesn’t understand she won’t be starved again

Question 10

What happened to the Koluchova twins?

Answer 10

• male, monozygotic twins
• faced severe deprivation from 18m - 7yrs
• locked in unheated cupboard
• starved & beaten

Question 11

What state were the Koluchova twins in when they were found?

Answer 11

• could barely walk
• were terrified of people & normal objects
• engaged in very basic play
• had very basic language
• severe health problems due to malnutrition

Question 12

How did the Koluchova twins progress after being discovered?

Answer 12

• faced no permanent cognitive impairment
• speech & language developed normally
• caught up with peers in terms of school work

Question 13

What did Skuse (1984) do?

Answer 13

Presented a set of different case studies to analyse what we can learn from cases of extreme deprivation

Question 14

What cases did Skuse (1984) say were examples of good outcomes after extreme deprivation?

Answer 14

Isabelle
Koluchova twins
Douglas & Suton twins
Louise

Question 15

What causes did Skuse (1984) say were examples of poor outcomes after extreme deprivation?

Answer 15

Anna
Genie
Mary

Question 16

According to Skuse (1984) an examination of cases of extreme deprivation allows us to what…?

Answer 16

• To study the minimal experiences needed during childhood that are sufficient and necessary for typical psychological development
• To study whether there are critical periods for different aspects of development

Question 17

What did Skuse (1984) conclude regarding the effect of early deprivation on eventual development outcome?

Answer 17

Evidence reviewed suggests that, in the absence of genetic or congenital abnormalities or a history of gross malnourishment, victims of extreme deprivation have an excellent prognosis
- so assuming genotype/biological structures are ok, development can achieve normal levels

Question 18

What is meant by the term ‘Critical Periods’?

Answer 18

The limitation of time for learning a task/function in development
- for example the case of Genie provides evidence that the critical period for language acquisition is around 12-13yrs

Question 19

What are thought to be the minimum experiences a child needs to develop?

Answer 19

General cognition 
- perception, attention, memory, language etc. 
Emotional development 
- attachment, emotions 
Social development 
- friendship, respect, empathy, etc.

Question 20

What questions are asked to compare the similarities/differences of a feral child upon their discovery? (Skuse, 1984)

Answer 20

• How do these children perceive the world?
• What social responses do they manifest?
• Do they speak or understand speech?
• What emotions do they express?
• Does this tell us anything about the vulnerability of different psychological attributes?

Question 21

What questions are used to compare the similarities and differences of a feral child during their recovery? (Skuse, 1984)

Answer 21

• How quickly is each faculty gained? (e.g. motor movement, visual perception, speech, etc.)
• What is the course of development of each faculty?
• How is this course dependent on the stimulation/intervention provided?
• What intensity of intervention is necessary for the best possible outcome?

Question 22

What questions are used to compare the similarities and differences of the outcomes of feral children? (Skuse, 1984)

Answer 22

• What is the outcome after a suitable follow up period (and what is a suitable follow up period)?
• For each cognitive function: how much “normal development” is reached?
• Can we predict the outcome at discovery? If not, when?
• Is the rate of recovery the critical prognostic factor of outcome?
  If some areas do not recover, what conclusions can we draw? (e.g. inadequate intervention? inadequate compensation?)