Romanian orphanage Flashcards
(21 cards)
Who were the researchers for the Romanian Orphanage study?
Rutter and Songua-Barke
What type of study was is?
Natural longitudinal study
What was the study researching the effects of?
Effects of insitutionalisation
What was wrong with the institution?
- lacked medicine/washing facility
- understaffed/crowded
- no emotional care
- no attachment figure
- subject to abuse
What were children never able to form according to Bowlby?
an internal working model
Aim ?
To investigate the effects of institutionalisation in Romanian children who spent their early lives in Romanian orphanages
How many children were involved in the study?
165 Romanian orphans
How many were adopted and before what age?
- 111 adopted before the age of 2
- 54 by the age of 4
How many British counterparts were used and when were they adopted?
- 52 British children adopted before the age of 6 months
What were the British orphan groups used as?
a control group
What was assessed?
- Physical
- Cognitive
- Social development
How were they assessed?
At regular intervals, (4, 6, 11, 15)
How did the Romanian orphans lag behind their British counterparts?
- All measures (physical, social, cognitive) + smaller + weighed less + classified as mentally retarded (lower IQ)
By what age did the Romanian orphans catch up to the British?
At age 4
What if the Romanian orphans were adopted before 6 months?
Almost all the orphans caught up to the British
What have subsequent follow ups found in those who remained in institutional care beyond 6 months?
- Orphans showed disinhibited attachments
- Problems with peer relationships
What were the conclusions on the effects of insitutionalisation?
- Physical underdevelopment: deprivation dwarfism from lack of emotional care
- Intellectual under-functioning: cognitive development affected by emotional deprivation
- Disinhibited attachment: Form of insecure attachment, treat strangers with inappropriate familiarity
- Poor parenting: Quinton et al found that ex-institutional women found it difficult to act as a parent
A03 Strength of longitudinal study
- researcher has good understanding of long-term consequences on development of behaviour
- w/o longitudinal studies researchers may come to invalid conclusions
- E.G. the effects of institutionalisation can be reversed if child exposed to good quality care
A03 Strength, real life application
- In the past, before giving up their babies, mothers were asked to nurse the babies
- This sometimes meant the sensitive period for formation of attachment would pass and so would lead to difficulties when these babies later tried to form secure attachments
- As a result of Romanian orphanage study babies are adopted within one week of birth
- Singer et al have found that adoptive mother and children are just as securely attached as non-adoptive families
- This therefore demonstrates how Rutter and Songua-Barke research has been applied to real life and improved lives of children in institutional care
A03 - No holistic understanding
- Other factors aside from emotional deprivation may have impacted upon the orphans development
- The orphans were also neglected physically and cognitively
- These multiple risk factors most likely contribute to the negative observed long-term consequences
- Therefore this means that it is likely the effects of institutionalisation care go beyond emotional deprivation
A03 - Individual differences
- Not all children will experience negative effects of institutionalisation
- Some children were not as strongly affected as others
- Some Romanian children experienced special attention and so may have some early attachment experiences
- This highlights the importance of individual differences
