romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation

what is institutionalisation?

refers to children who have been raised in institutions e.g., orphanage

what is disinhibited attachment?

behaviour pattern shown by some children who have been raised in institutions

what kind of behaviour do children with disinhibited attachment show?

• attention-seeking

• lack of stranger anxiety

• making inappropriate physical contact

who studied the effects of institutionalisation?

rutter & songua-barke

what was rutler & songua-barke’s procedure?

• studied a group of 165 romanian orphans since 1990s

• all spent early lives in institutions

• 111 were adopted before age 2

• further 54 by age 4

• adoptees tested at regular intervals - 4, 6, 11, 15

• interviews w teachers & parents

• progress compared to control group of 52 british adoptees before 6mo

what did rutler & songua-barke find?

• at the time of adoption, the romanian orphans lagged behind the british control group on all measures of development

• smaller, weighed less & classified as mentally ‘retarded’

• by 4, those adopted before 6mo had caught up

• subsequent follow-ups confirmed that significant deficits remain in a substantial minority

• many showed disinhibited attachments

what was rutler & songua-barke’s conclusion?

when children are institutionalised beyond he age of 6mo, the effects are long-term & severe with many developing disinhibited attachment & maladjustment

what was le mare & audet’s longitudinal study?

• 36 romanian orphans adopted in canada

• DV = physical growth & health

• adopted orphans were physically smaller than controlled at 4 ½

• difference disappeared by 10 ½

what did le mare & audet’s research suggest?

recovery is possible from effects of institutionalisation on physical developent - opposes bowlby’s theory

what are the effects of institutionalisation?

• physical underdevelopment

• intellectual underfunctioning

• disinhibited attachment

• poor parenting

what is physical underdevelopment?

children in institutional care are often smaller than those who aren’t as the lack of emotional care limited their development

what is intellectual underfunctioning?

the lack of emotional development stunts cognitive development

what is poor parenting?

evidence from harlow’s monkeys & quinton et als research shows that institutionalised children experience extreme difficulties when acting as parents due to the lack of role model

what are the strengths of research into the effects of institutionalisation?

• helped shape how care works - bowlby & robertson - early adoption prioritised - mothers used to be encouraged to nurse babies before giving up - significant change

• longitudinal - long period of time - prevents mistake - high in validity

what are the weaknesses of research into the effects of institutionalisation?

• individual differences - primary attachment can be formed with special attention - favouritism - differences in coping - cannot generalise

• institutionalisation may slow development - not permanent - less children showed disinhibited attachment at 11 - disappears over time