rutter intuitional care

what is institutionalisation

Institutionalisation is the effects of living in an institutional setting (such as an orphanage) for a long period of time, where there is often little emotional care or consistent attachment to a caregiver.

define what privation is

privation is when an attachment never forms at all, often due to extreme neglect or institutionalisation.

describe the conditions

abusive malnutrition neglect both emotional and psychically

define Disinhibited attachment

Disinhibited attachment - children select attachment figures indiscriminately and behave in an overly familiar fashion with complete strangers as well as being attention seeking.

Disorganised attachment

 The child will seem confused and hesitate to seek comfort, typically display freezing behaviours both when their parent leaves the room and upon their return or lashing out at the parent.

Reactive detachment disorder

Reactive detachment disorder - An extreme lack of sensitive responsiveness from a parent in early life can lead to a child growing up with impaired adult relationships in which they are unable to trust or love others. They become isolated, selfish and unable to understand the needs of others.

rutters study

type of experiment =

method=

rutters findings=

natural

methods= 165 children were split into 3 group those who were adopted before 6 months old those adopted between 6 months and 2 years and those adopted older than 2 years. each group was assessed on certain attributes at the ages of 4,6,11 and 15. The Romanian orphans were assessed for height, head circumference and IQ and were compared to a control group of British orphans. At the beginning of the study half of the Romanian orphans showed mental retardation and the majority were severely undernourished.

Rutters findings= age 6 at this age main of those adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment. This was more common the older the children were.

AT age 11 over half those who displayed disinhibited attachment at 6 still had that attachment style at 11. children adopted after six months showed delayed physical and emotional and intellectual development. By age 11, the orphans showed differential rates of recovery that were related to their age of adoption. Those adopted before the age of 6 months were likely to show greater improvements in their IQ than those adopted after 2 years and these differences remained at the age of 16. those adopted at 2 years of age had an average IQ of 77 whilst those adopted before 6 months had an average IQ of 102.

The conclusion was that negative effects of privation could be overcome with adequate substitute care but that this would need to occur before the age of 6 months for the greatest improvements to be shown.

conclusions from rutter research

Adoption before 6 months is important

the age of adoption is important to the rate and speed of recovery

privation has long term effects however the negative effects of privation could be overcome with adequate substitute care but that this would need to occur before the age of 6 months for the greatest improvements to be shown.

one strength is empirical evidence

One advantage of research into the theory of the effects of institutionalisation is that there is empirical evidence in support. For example, Rutter et al. examined 165 Romanian children who spent their early lives in a Romanian institution and found that those adopted after 6 months showed significant deficits and signs of disinhibited attachment, highlighting the consequences of institutionalisation. This has also been confirmed by Zeenah’s Bucharest Early Intervention Project which compared 95 Romanian children who had spent an average of 90% of their time in an institution with a control group who had never been in an institution. When assessed using the strange situation, 74% of the control group were securely attached compared with 19% of the institutional group. In addition, descriptions of disinhibited attachments by carers showed that 44% of the institutionalised children had disinhibited attachments compared with less than 20% of the control group.

one strength is longitudinal

Rutter’s research is longitudinal which means that the changes in social development demonstrated by the orphans could be examined over time which allows stronger conclusions to be reached as to the long-term effects of institutionalisation. For example, Rutter’s study examined the children for a range of factors such as height, weight, head circumference and IQ at the ages of 4, 6, 11 and 15 years. This study therefore confirms the view that the long-term effects of institutionalisation can be overcome, providing the adoption occurs prior to the age of 6 months.

One strength is real world applications

The study has real world applications in that it has changed the way in which adoption occurs and how institutions are managed. For example, the process of adoption now means that mothers who give a baby up for adoption do so within the first week of birth so that children can form a secure attachment with their adoptive parents within Bowlby’s critical period whilst institutions have more key workers.

one limitation

Individual differences may occur and there may have been other contributing factors such as the innate biological temperament or intelligence levels of the child rather than the institution alone that affected the outcomes. Research from Rutter has shown that some children within institutions may receive special attention, possibly because they smiled more and were more sociable so had some type of attachment experience. These children would also be more likely to be adopted earlier as people looking to adopt pick the children out .

Other explanations for IQ is and lack of development other than privation

Privation is only one factor that could have caused the outcomes in the Romanian orphans. This is a disadvantage because there may be an alternative explanation for the poorer cognitive levels of attainment observed such as that institutions generally have a lack of educational and stimulating resources, especially in Romania where conditions were particularly poor. Child development psychologists such as Piaget would argue that a stimulating physical environment encourages cognitive development. This lack of stimulation could therefore explain why the children adopted after 6 months in Rutter’s study only showed IQ improvements from 45 to 90 compared with those adopted before 6 months whose IQs increased from 63 to 107.

one limitation is how short the study is

The effects of institutionalisation may disappear over time. Development does continue and the children in the study may not have reached their full potential so far. The last time the children were examined was at 15 our brains are still developing at that age. We need more time to find more conclusive findings about the long-term effects of institutionalisation