Lesson 9 Instituional Care

Question 1

Institutional care

Answer 1

Institutional care is when a child’s living arrangements are outside of the family. Some children are raised in institutions, such as children’s homes, hostels, hospitals etc. Children raised in institutions can adopt the rules and norms of the institution, which could impair functioning and lead to a loss of personal identity (deindividuation)

Question 2

Rutter et al (2010), - studies of Romanian Orphans procedure

Answer 2

This study involved 165 Romanian children who spent their early lives in Romanian orphanages, before being adopted, and thus suffered from the effects of institutionalisation. The adoptees were tested at regular intervals (ages 4, 6, 11 and 15) to assess their physical, cognitive and social development. Their progress was compared to a control group of 52 British children adopted in the UK before the age of six months.

Question 3

Rutter et al (2010) - studies of Romanian Orphans findings

Answer 3

• At the time of adoption the Romanian orphans lagged behind their British counterparts on all measures of physical, cognitive and social development. By the age of four the Romanian children adopted before the age of six months had caught up with their British counterparts. However, a significant number of individuals adopted after the age of six months still had significant deficits at age four.

Question 4

Rutter et al (2010) - studies of Romanian orphans conclusions

Answer 4

This study suggests that the long-term consequences of institutionalisation may be less severe than was once thought if children are adopted before six months and receive sensitive parenting. However, if children are not adopted by six months then the consequences of institionalisation are likely to be severe.

Question 5

Effect of Institutionalisation

Answer 5

1. Delayed Intellectual Development – Children raised in institutions can have a low IQ and concentration problems. This means they may struggle at school because they cannot learn new behaviours and concepts as quickly. They can also have delayed language development.
2. Disinhibited Attachment - Children raised in institutions may not know what appropriate behaviour towards strangers is. They can be overly affectionate and attention-seeking.
3. Emotional Development – Children raised in institutions can have difficulty managing their anger (e.g. they have more temper tantrums than other children).
4. Lack of Internal Working Model - Children raised in institutions may have difficulty interacting with peers and forming close relationships. As adults they will have impaired adult relationships and can struggle to parent their own children.
5. Children raised in institutions Quasi-Autism because they struggle to understand the meaning of social contexts and can have obsessional behaviours. They can have lower frequency of pretend play and reduced empathy.
6. Delayed Physical Development – Children in institutional care are usually physically small. Research has shown that a lack of emotional care rather than poor nourishment is the cause of what has been called deprivation dwarfism.

Question 6

Advantages of the effects of institutionalisation

Answer 6

+ Studies that have investigated the effects of institutionalisation have enhanced our understanding of the potential negative consequences of institutional care and has led to the establishment of key workers in institutions to provide emotional care for children.

+ Studies that have investigated the effects of institutionalisation have also led to changes in the adoption process. In the past mothers were encouraged to nurse their children for as long as possible before giving them up for adoption. Today most babies are adopted within their first week of life (certainly before six months).

Question 7

Disadvantages of the effects of institutionalisation

Answer 7

• There are problems when generalising findings of studies of Romanian orphans as standards of care were particularly poor in Romanian orphanages. The Romanian orphans were faced with much more than emotional deprivation. The physical conditions were appalling, and there was a lack of cognitive stimulation. It is likely that long-term damage from institutional care only occurs when there are multiple risk factors.
• It is possible that the negative effects of institutional care can be reduced by sensitive parenting. Le Mare and Audet (2006) conducted a longitudinal study of 36 Romanian orphans adopted to families in Canada. The adopted orphans were physically smaller than a matched control group at age four but this difference had disappeared by ten. The same was true for psychological health.
• Adoption and control groups were not randomly allocated to conditions in studies of Romanian orphans. This means that participant variables between the children could influence the findings in unanticipated ways. The adopted children might have been adopted because of personal characteristics such as resilience or being more sociable. These characteristics might explain why they were less affected by institutional care, which lowers the validity of the research