Institutionalisation: Romanian Orphan Studies

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