privatoin Flashcards
(14 cards)
what happened to genie?
genie was discovered at 13, severaly undernourished. she could not stand, walk, or talk normally. she could not understand language
- she was tied to a potty and fed baby food without anyone talking to or spending time with her.
who are the czech twins?
spent the first 7 years of their lives locked in a cage
- recovered well and had their own children
what did rutter study?
he did a longitudinal study that studied romanian orphans adopted into english families in the 90s
- 165 romanain children who spent their early lives in romanina institutions with almost no emotional care
what was rutters procedure?
the adoptees were tested at regular intervals to assess their physical cognitive and social development and their progress was compared to a control group of 52 english children who had NOT lived in institutions and were adoped before 6 months
what did rutter find?
compared to the control group, the romanians were smaller, weighed less and were classified as mentally retarded, by age 4 the adoptees adopted before 6 months had caught up with the english ones
- follow ups confirmed that significant deficits remain in those adopted after the age of 6
what are the effects of privation?
- disinhibited attachment
- physical underdevelopment
- poor parenting
what is disinhibited attachment?
many romanian orphans adopted after 6 months showed disinhibted attachments (insecure attachment where children do not discriminate between the people they choose as attachment figures)
what is physical underdevelopment?
children in institutional care are usually physically small
- gardener (1972) showed that lack of emotional care rather than poor nourishment is teh cause of what has been called deprivation dwarfism
what is poor parenting?
quinton et al (1984) compared a group of 50 women who had been reared in institutions with a control group of 50 women reared at hone
- the ex-institutionalised women were experiencing extreme difficulties in being parents
what is a strength of the ERA study (rutter)?
the careful methodology and a large sample was used
- the identification of a control group
- the follow up comparisons made and a wide variety of dependent variables were measured which can be used to make comparisons
what is the competing argument of the strength of rutter?
evidence from case studies should be treated with caution
- genies mother claimed she had a loving relationship with her but we do not know
what is a weakness of rutter?
emotional privation was not the only factor that may have caused negative outcomes in the ERA study:
- privatoin is associated with poor developmental outcomes but it might not be the cause
- the physical conditions were appaling
- the lack of cognitive stimulation
what is a weakness of the long term effects of the ERA study?
the age of adoption may not be the critical factor
- the children who were adopted later also spent longer in the insitution so that may explain the differences
- the ppts who were adopted late may also be lagging developmentally rather than having deficits
how can ERA study be applied?
the research can help to improve the lives of children experiencing privation
- research on privation has shown the potential for very poor life outcomes where children are in large scale institutional care
- process of adoption has also changed because we see the importance of early adoption
