Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation

• Institutionalisation refers to the effects of living in an institutional setting e.g. a hospital, orphanage etc.
• The effects of institutionalisation include:

  • disinhibited attachment
  • mental retardation
  • lack of emotional and social development
• Rutter (2006) has explained disinhibited attachment as an adaption to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period for attachment formation.

  • In poor quality orphanages like those in Romania, a child might have 50 carers none of whom they spend enough time with to form a secure attachment.
• Mental retardation is a cognitive impairment that arises due to prolonged institutionalisation. It includes a lower IQ, slower language development, and struggles with academic tasks. Lack of stimulation in early life likely contributed to this impairment.
• A lack of emotional and social development is displayed in children who had a lack of responsive caregivers who would normally help children regulate emotions. Children often displayed behavioral issues, such as impulsiveness, social withdrawal, or difficulty controlling emotions.
• Rutter's English and Romanian Adoptee (ERA) study aimed to assess the long-term effects of institutionalisation in Romanian children adopted by UK families.
• Rutter studied Romanian orphans adopted by British families, comparing outcomes for children adopted before and after the age of six months.

  • The physical, cognitive and emotional development of the children were assessed at ages 4, 6, 11, and later.
  • The Romanian orphans were compared to a group of British children adopted around the same time (control group)
• Rutter's ERA study found that children adopted before six months showed much better developmental progress, more secure attachments, and fewer cognitive and social issues than those adopted after six months, who were more likely to exhibit disinhibited attachment and other social problems.

  • The mean IQ of those children adopted before the age of six months was 102, compared to 86 for children adopted between the age of six months and 2 years.
• Disinhibited attachment is a condition where children show inappropriate familiarity with strangers, lack of selective attachment, and struggle with forming deep emotional bonds.

  • Its symptoms include attention seeking, clinginess and social behaviour directed indiscriminately towards all adults.
• Rutter's ERA study highlighted how there is a sensitive period for attachment development. Children who had been deprived of emotional care during the sensitive period were more likely to struggle, especially if they had prolonged stays in institutional settings.
• Zeanah et al's Bucharest Early Intervention Project aimed to examine the impact of institutional care on attachment and social development.
• Zeanah et al. assessed attachment and social behaviour in children who had spent most of their lives in institutional care and compared them to a control group of children who had never been in an institution.

  • Their attachment type was measured using the strange situation.
  • Carers were also asked about unusual social behaviour including clingy, attention-seeking behaviour directed inappropriately at all adults.
• Zeanah et al's Bucharest Early Intervention Project found that institutionalised children were more likely to display disorganized and disinhibited attachment behaviors, with many unable to form secure attachments.

  • 74% of the control group was securely attached compared to 19% of the institutionalised children.
  • 65% of the institutionalised children were classified with disorganised attachment.
• Zeanah et al's Bucharest Early Intervention Project highlighted how early institutionalisation can significantly impair the ability to form healthy attachments and social connections.
• A strength of research into the effects of institutionalisation is its real-world application. Studies of Romanian orphans have highlighted the negative impacts of institutional care, leading to improvements in childcare practices. For instance, introducing key workers ensures each child in an institution has consistent caregivers, reducing the likelihood of disinhibited attachment—a negative outcome identified in Rutter’s ERA study—and promoting secure attachment formation. This enhances the value of institutionalization research by demonstrating its practical impact on childcare services.
• A weakness of research into the effects of institutionalisation is that the findings are difficult to generalise. This is because the quality of care was particularly poor in Romanian orphanages Rutter studied, lacking a basic level of emotional support and intellectual stimulation. Ergo, it can be argued that Rutter's findings from the ERA study about the effects of institutionalisation only apply to an institution where there is extreme deprivation. This limits this research as the unusual situational variables mean that the findings have limited applicability to other institutions.
• A strength is the use of longitudinal research, such as in Rutter’s ERA study. Following the same children over many years allowed researchers to track long-term developmental changes and assess the persistence or recovery of effects due to early institutionalization. This design provides evidence on sensitive periods for attachment, showing how children adopted before six months tend to form secure attachments and have fewer developmental issues. This approach increases the validity of the findings, as it provides insights into the long-term effects of early deprivation.