effects of institutionalisation

what is institutionalisation

children being raised in residential care, e.g. orphanages, children homes, instead of a family setting

aim of the English & Romanian Adoptees Project (ERA)

investigate the effects of institutionalisation on development and discover the extent to which good quality care can help recovery

ERA sample

165 Romanian children, adopted by English families from institutions

compared to a control group of 52 adopted UK children

ERA method

assessed physical, emotional and cognitive development longitudinally at ages 4, 6, 11, 15, 22-25

data gathered using range of methods- observation, interview, psychological assessment, parent/teacher reports

what type of experiment was the ERA study

natural

what was the IV in the ERA project

age at which they were adopted:

• before age of 6 months

• between 6 months and 2 years

• after the age of 2

ERA findings- adopted before 6 months

• secure attachment developed in childhood for most

• cognitive development improved to normal levels by age 6

• autistic like symptoms was rare

• no difference with the UK control group for mental health (22) issues

ERA findings- adopted after 6 months

• 50% by aged 11 showed disinhibited attachment

• significantly lower IQ, especially if adopted after 2 years, caught up to normal by adulthood

• 25% showed social and communication difficulties, obsessional repetitive behaviours that resembled autism

• significantly more likely to report emotional problems and to have used mental health services (40-50%)

what is dis-inhibited attachment

pattern of clingy, attention-seeking behaviour and inappropriate indiscriminate friendliness towards any adult

ERA conclusion

clear importance of early adoption as negative effects in many areas of development appear more likely in those adopted after 6 months

many later adoptees did not experience problems- individual differences in the effects of institutionalisation

strength- longitudinal methods

tracking same children over many years means researchers could assess LTE of early institutionalisation on early development

valuable research as reveals consistent patterns overtime instead of relying on one-off snapshot of behaviour

e.g. early assessments showed developmental delays in children adopted after 6 months

follow ups found these issues persisted into adulthood

long term view uncovers what aspects of development recover

weakness- lack of control over IV

natural experiment so children not matched or randomly allocated to late/early adoption groups

may have been differences between early and late adoptees at the start- e.g. early may already had better cognitive/social skills

cant conclude longer period in institution was cause of greater difficulties

strength- other studies found similar effects

Tizard & Hodges- observed ong term impacts on attachment and peer relationships

Zeanah et al.- outcomes closely matched ERA study when comparing fostered vs those remained in institutions. children were randomly allocated to groups strengthening ability to draw cause-and-effect about impact of institutional care on social/emotional/cognitive development

supports reliability of ERA findings

weakness- limited sample and generalisability

difficult to generalise findings from Romanian orphan studies as conditions among worse ever recorded- sever neglect

modern institutions provide better care- stimulation, key workers to promote stable attachments

likely that children raised in higher-quality institutions experience more positive outcomes

harmful effects found in ERA study represent effect of poor institutional care