Romanian Orphan Studies: Institutionalisation

• Institutionalisation + the Roman Orphans

  In the 90's people became aware of the severe conditions Romanian orphanages were holding children in. Contraception was banned so birth-rate soared and many parents were living in extreme poverty so were forced to abandon their child.

  These children had suffered privation – not formed an attachment with

  a primary caregiver in infancy. They were malnourished, had limited social interaction and lived in extremely overcrowded conditions.

  After an international outcry, many of the children were removed and adopted in the UK +others.
• Rutter - English + Romanian Adoptee Study (ERA)

  Researchers followed 165 Romanian orphans who got adopted in Britain. This longitudinal study tested the extent to which good care can make up for poor experiences in institutions. Physical, cognitive + emotional development was assessed at 4, 6, 11 and 15. Also followed a control group of 52 adopted British children.

  Findings: Half of Romanian orphans showed mental retardation when they came to the UK. At age 11 recovery rates were related to their age of adoption: Before 6 months mean IQ of 102, 6m-2yrs IQ of 86, 2+years mean IQ of 77.
• Rutter - English + Romanian Adoptee Study (ERA)

  Conclusion: a difference in outcome between those adopted before 6 months and those adopted after

  • adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment (attention seeking, clinginess), rare in children adopted before the six months.
  • findings support the sensitive period in the development of attachments. A failure to form an attachment before six months appears to have long-lasting effects.
  • Rutter concluded that negative outcomes shown by the orphans can be overcome through good care.
• Effects of Institutionalisation

  • Disinhibited attachment: children are equally friendly with people they know well and with strangers so don’t often show stranger anxiety. Rutter explained this style of attachment as having to adapt to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period as a child may have 50 carers.
  • Mental Retardation: Rutter’s study showed most children showing signs of it. Problems of institutionalisation can be recovered providing adoption takes place before 6 months.
  • Quasi-Autism
  • Delayed Language Development
  • Poor Physical Growth
• Evaluation of effects of institutionalisation + Roman orphan studies

  + Practical applications - results from ERA research has led to improvements in the way children are cared for in institutions, they have less caregivers, they have one or two key workers. This gives the child a chance to develop normal attachments

  X issues with generalisability - conditions of the orphanages are so bad that results may not apply to general situations of deprivation. Romanian orphanages had particularly poor standards of care, so the unusual situational variables mean the studies may lack generalisability.
• Evaluation of effects of institutionalisation + Roman orphan studies


  X Children weren't randomly allocated - the children adopted early may have been more sociable ones - confounding variable. This might explain why they did ‘better’ developmentally later. Random allocation would be better as it removes the confounding variable.

  X long-term effects of early experience aren't clear yet - they've only been followed into their mid-teens. The children who spent longer in institutions may still 'catch up' as adults. Equally, early-adopted children may experience emotional problems as adults.