Romanian orphan studies

• Explain what is meant by institutionalisation.

  Institutionalisation refers to when an infant lives outside the family home e.g. in a children’s home or hospital. 

  This can result in the child adopting the rules and norms of the institution to the point it can lead to deindividuation (the loss of their personal identity). 

  It can also affect a child’s intellectual, emotional and social development.
• Outline Romanian orphan studies into the effects of institutionalisation


  Involved investigating Romanian orphans who had been adopted in Britain to investigate whether good care could make up for their experiences of living within an institution.

  They investigated the Romanian orphans’ physical, cognitive and emotional development at various ages up until 15 years of age.

  Measuring their weight and height; cognitive assessments included IQ tests; and emotional development included measuring their type of attachment.
• Outline Romanian orphan studies into the effects of institutionalisation.


  50% of the Romanian orphans showed delayed IQ and most were undernourished, affecting their growth.

  Nearly half of the Romanian orphans had a disinhibited attachment i.e. were overly clingy and affectionate towards strangers.

  The age they were adopted affected their recovery rates. E.g. those who were adopted earlier tended to have higher IQs than those who were adopted later. This means that the less time spent living within an orphanage led to better rates of recovery.  
• Evaluate Romanian orphan studies into the effects of institutionalisation: helped to reduce confounding variables. 


  Prior research into the effects of institutionalisation involved studying children who had been abused/neglected prior to living within an institution whereas Romanian orphans had not experienced these negative effects. This is a strength because this meant that the prior research could not establish cause and effect.
• Evaluate Romanian orphan studies into the effects of institutionalisation: issues of confounding variables. 


  Research examining how the amount of time spent living within a Romanian orphanage affected the child did not involve interfering with the adoption process i.e. the researcher did not choose who was adopted first. This is a limitation because the finding that those who were adopted earlier/spent less time in an institution had less severe effects in the long-term could be due to pre-existing differences.
• Evaluate Romanian orphan studies into the effects of institutionalisation: may not generalise to all institutions. 


  This is because the ban on contraception meant that Romanian orphanages were full and, given the low numbers of staff, this led to poor standards of care. This is a limitation because it may mean that the effects of institutionalisation would have been more severe In Romanian orphanages than they would have been in other institutions e.g. orphanages in Britain that had better standards of care. As a result, the effects of institutionalisation may have been exaggerated.
• Evaluate Romanian orphan studies into the effects of institutionalisation: practical applications.


  E.g. orphanages and children's homes now ensure that each child is given a key worker. This is a strength because this has meant that the children are more likely to be intellectually stimulated and are less likely to form disinhibited attachments due to being looked after by multiple new staff. In turn, such changes have helped to minimise the negative effects of institutionalisation.