AO3 - Effects of Institutionalisation

• Rutter et al (2011) followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans as part of the ERA study, and found greater outcomes for children adopted before 6 months old.
• Kennedy et al (2016) suggest ADHD is more common if children have experienced the negative effects of institutional care early in life.
• Individual differences cannot be ignored in cases following institutional care, some children may respond better than other when adopted.
• There are several ethical issues when studying children who have experienced institutional care.
• Many studies investigating the negative effects are longitudinal, where participant attrition is greater.
• Many studies investigating institutional care give a good insight into how children form attachments in real life, so have high ecological validity.
• Many studies looking at the negative effects of institutional care are socially sensitive.
• There may be negative implications for some children following the research into the effects of institutionalisation.