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What is Institutionalisation?
The effects of living in an institutional setting like a hospital or orphanage.
Rutter’s Romanian Orphan Study
165 orphans adopted by British families
Orphans adopted before 6 months, between 6 months and 2 years, and after 2 years
Physical, cognitive and emotional development assessed at ages 4,6,11,15,22
Control group of British adoptees
Rutter’s Findings
At first all adoptees showed delayed development and malnourishment
At age 11 those adopted before 6 months had a higher IQ (mean 102) than those adopted after 6 months (86) and 2 years (77)
Those adopted before 6 months were intellectually on par with the control group by age 4
Differences remained as children grew
Children adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment
Zeanah’s Research
95 Romanian children who had lived in care
Ages 12-31 months
Control group of 50 non-institutionalised children
Attachment type measured with Strange Situation
Carers asked about unusual social behaviour
Zeanah’s Findings
74% of control group were securely attached
19% of institutionalised children were securely attached
44% of institutionalised children sowed disinhibited attachment compared to 20% of control group
Strengths
Real-world Applications - effects of institutional care understood and can lead to improvements in care
No confounding variables - children had not experienced additional trauma like death or war
Longitudinal data - richer, detailed data
Limitations
Confounding variables - these studies may show effects of poor institutional care rather than just institutional care
Lack of adult data - data does not show effects on further adult development and the persistence of the effects of institutionalisation