Romanian orphan studies Flashcards
(17 cards)
What are the 2 effects of institutionalisation?
Disinhibited attachment and damage to intellectual development
Explain disinhibited attachment
The child is equally friendly and affectionate towards people they know well or who are strangers
This may be an adaption to multiple caregivers
In poor quality institutions (Romania), a child might have 50 carers but doesn’t spend enough time with any one of them to form a secure attachment
Explain damage to intellectual development
Institutionalised children often show signs of mental retardation
This effect is not pronounced if the children are adopted before 6 months of ago
What was Rutter et al.’s procedure?
Followed 165 Romanian orphans
All were adopted by families in the UK and had experienced poor conditions
Longitudinal study - investigate the extent to which good care could make up for poor early experiences
Physical, cognitive and emotional development was assessed at ages 4,6,11 and 15 years
This study also followed a control group of 52 British children
What were Rutter et al’s findings?
Half of them showed mental retardation when they came to the UK
At 11 years old, the mean IQ of the children was:
102 - adopted before the age of 6 months
86 - adopted between 6 months - 2 years
77 - adopted after 2 years
Those differences remained at age of 15
What was the 11 year old children’s IQ if they were adopted before the age of 6 months?
102
What was the 11 year old children’s IQ id they were adopted between 6 months and 2 years?
86
What was the 11 year old children’s IQ id they were adopted after 2 years?
77
Those adopted after they were 6 months showed what?
Signs of disinhibited attachment - symptoms include attention seeking and clinginess
Those adopted before the age of 6 months rarely displayed disinhibited attachment
What were Rutter et al’s conclusions?
The findings support the view that there is a sensitive period in the development of attachments
Failure to form an attachment before the age of 6 months appears to have long-lasting effects
What was Zeanah et al’s procedure?
Researchers used Strange Situation to assess attachment in 95 Romanian children aged between 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care
Control group of 50 children who had never lived in an institution
Carers were also asked about social behaviour - clingy, attention-seeking behaviour
What were Zeanah’s findings?
74% of the control group were classed as securely attached (the Strange Situation)
Only 19% of the institutional group were securely attached
Disinhibited attachment applied to 44% of institutionalised children and only 20% of the control group
Give 2 strengths of Romanian orphanages
- Application improved conditions for children growing up outside their family home - Improved psychologists understanding of the effects of early institutional care and how to prevent the negative effects
EG. children’s care home try to avoid large numbers of caregivers - instead they tend to have 1 or 2 ‘key workers’. Institutional care is now seen as an undesirable option for looked-after children - more effort now made into foster care or adoption - Lack of confounding variables - There were many orphans studies prior to the Romanian orphans. The children used in previous research experienced varying degrees of trauma (neglect, psychical abuse). The majority of children in the Romanian orphanages had been handed over by loving parents who could not afford to keep them. This means that results were much less likely to be confounded by other negative early experiences (higher internal validity)
Give 2 limitations of Romanian orphanages
- The study of Romanian orphanages may have introduced different confounding variables - The quality of care in the institutions was really poor - the children recieved little intellectual stimulation or comfort. This means that the harmful effects seen in studies of Romanian orphans may represent the effects of poor institutional care rather than just institutional care
- Social sensitivity - The research shows that late-adopted children typically have poor developmental outcomes. This research has been published while the children have been growing up therefore the parents, teachers may have lowered their expectations and treated the adopted children differently. It could create a self-fulfilling prophecy - a prediction that comes true at least in part as a result of a person’s belief or expectation
How many Romanian orphans were in Rutter et al’s study?
165
How many romanian orphans were in Rutter et al’s study?
165
At what ages was the orphans physical, cognitive and development assessed?
4, 6, 11 and 15
