Rutter and the effects of institutionalisation Flashcards
(20 cards)
What is institutionalisation?
Institutionalisation refers to children spending a long period of time kiving outside the family home within an institution, for example, an orphanage. This can result in loss of personal identity and the child adopting the rules and norms of the institution that can impair cog functioning
Define reactive attachment disorder
An extreme lack of sensitive responsiveness from a parent in early life can lead to a child growing up unable to trust or love others. They become isolated and very selfish and can become sociopathic
What is disinhibited attachment
Children select attachment figures indiscriminately and behave in an overly familiar fashion with complete strangers
What is disinhibited attachment caused by
Long periods of institutionalised care in early life, children may adapt to having multiple caregivers who are not seen enough to form a secure attachment
What is cognitive impairment?
A delay in intellectual development where an individual would have a low IQ and problems with concentration. They may also have difficulty learning new concepts
What was the aim of Rutter et al’s study?
To investigate whether loving and nurturing care would overturn the effects of institutionalisation the children suffered in Romanian orphanages
What ages were the children’s development measured at?
ages 4, 6, 11 and 15
What was Rutter’s sample
111 Romanian orphans who were adopted into British families
What was found on the initial assessment?
50% of the Romanian children showed signs of cognitive impairment and were severely undernourished
What was found at the age of 4 with those that were adopted later?
They had much higher levels of disinhibited attachment
Orphans adopted before 6 months…
were doing as well as British adopted children
By the age of 11, the mean IQ of those adopted later was lower at __
77
Those adopted before the age of 6 months had a normal IQ level of ___
102
Compared to previous research into institutionalisation, Rutter’s research has higher…
Control over extreneous variables
What had happened in previous institutionalisation studies?
the children had often experienced trauma, neglect or abuse or bereavement before being institutionalised and it was difficult to tell if any long term effects were due to neglect and abuse before institutionalised care
What was different about Rutter’s study compared to previous studies on institutionalisation
The majority of children in Rutter’s studies would have been handed over by loving families who could not afford to keep them. Meaning there’s confounding variables
Studying children from Romanian orphanages might have introduced different…
confounding variables such as the quality of care in these institutions which are extremely poor, with children recieving very little intellectual stimulation or comfort.
Research into the effects of institutionalisation has…
practical applications
This is because the principles of the theory that…
institutionalisation has led to psychological problems such as disinhibited attachment has led to improvemets in the conditions experienced by children growing up outside of their family home
What is the practical application of Rutter’s study?
Children’s homes now avoid having a large number of caregivers for each child and instead the children tend to have one or two key workers who play a central role in the child’s emotional care, to reduce the negative effects of institutionalisation
