Romanian Orphan Studies: Effects of Institutionalisation

• What was the aim of Rutter et al (2011)?

  To investigate effects of early institutionalisation
• What type of study did Rutter et al (2011) conduct?

  Longitudinal study
• How many Romanian orphans were studied by Rutter et al (2011)?

  165 Romanian orphans
• What were the age groups of the children in Rutter et al (2011)?

  • Group 1: 58 children under 6 months
  • Group 2: 59 children aged 6-24 months
  • Group 3: 48 children over 48 months
  • Group 4: 52 British adoptees (control group)
• At what ages were the children assessed in Rutter et al (2011)?

  At ages 4, 6, 11, and 15
• What signs did the children show upon arrival in the UK?

  Mental retardation and severe undernourishment
• What was the mean IQ for children adopted before 6 months?

  102
• What was the mean IQ for children adopted between 6 and 24 months?

  86
• What was the mean IQ for children adopted after 2 years?

  77
• What attachment issue did children adopted after 6 months show?

  Disinhibited attachment
• What is disinhibited attachment?

  Inappropriate clinginess and attention seeking
• How did children adopted before 6 months differ in attachment?

  They rarely showed disinhibited attachment
• What was the aim of Zeanah et al (2005)?

  To compare attachment styles of children
• How many Romanian children were institutionalized in Zeanah et al (2005)?

  95 Romanian children
• How many children were used as a control group in Zeanah et al (2005)?

  50 children
• What method was used to measure attachment type in Zeanah et al (2005)?

  Strange Situation
• What percentage of the control group was securely attached?

  74%
• What percentage of the institutionalized group was securely attached?

  19%
• What percentage of the control group showed disinhibited attachment?

  Less than 20%
• What percentage of the institutional group showed disinhibited attachment?

  44%
• What are the real-world applications of studying Romanian orphans?

  • Improved understanding of early institutional care effects
  • Enhanced conditions for looked-after children
  • Development of key worker roles for emotional care
• What are the strengths of studying Romanian orphans?

  • Fewer confounding variables
  • Higher internal validity
  • Clearer understanding of institutional care effects
• What are the weaknesses of studying Romanian orphans?

  • Poor quality of care in institutions
  • Potential confounding variables from care quality
  • Lack of adult data on long-term effects
• What does the lack of adult data from the ERA Study imply?

  Long-term effects are still unknown
• What research questions remain unanswered due to lack of adult data?

  Lifetime prevalence of mental health problems
• Why will it take time to gather data on long-term effects?

  Due to the longitudinal design of the study
• What is a strength for Romanian Orphan Studies?

  Real World Application

  • Studying the Romanian orphans has improved psychologists’ understanding of the effects of early institutional care and how to prevent the worst of these effects
  • This has led to improvements in the conditions experienced by looked-after children, such as children now tend to have 1 - 2 key workers who play a central role in their emotional care
  • This means that children in institutional care have a chance to develop normal attachments and disinhibited attachment is avoided
• What is a strength for Romanian Orphan Studies?

  Fewer Confounding Variables

  • There were many orphan studies before the Romanian orphans became available to study and many of the children studied in orphanages had experienced varying degrees of trauma
  • It is difficult to separate the effects of neglect and physical abuse from those of institutional care, however the children from the orphanages have been handed over by parents who couldn't afford to keep them
  • This means that results were less likely to be confounded by other negative early experiences, resulting in higher internal validity
• What is a limitation for Romanian Orphan Studies?

  Confounding Variables?

  • Studying children from Romanian orphanages might have introduced different confounding variables
  • The quality of care in these institutions was remarkably poor, with children recieving little intellectual stimulation or comfort
  • This means that the harmful effects seen in studies of Romanian orphans may represent the effects of poor institutional care rather that institutional care overall
• What is a limitation for Romanian Orphan Studies?

  Lack of Adult Data

  • The latest data from the ERA Study looked at the children in their early to mid 20s, meaning that we do not have data about the long term effects of early institutional care
  • This includes the lifetime prevalence of mental health problems and participants’ success in forming and maintaining romantic and parental relationships, however it will take time to gather this data due to the longitudinal design of the study
  • This means we do not know completely what the long term effects are for the Romanian orphans