institutionalisation & adult relationships

• give 3 effects of institutionalisation:

  • low IQ
  • disinhibited attachments
  • quasi-autism
• institutionalised children show disinhibited attachments because they will form an attachment with anyone who shows them attention or affection - Rutter found this was most common when orphans were adopted after 6months
• hazan and shaver found that adults who had a secure attachment in childhood were more likely to have long-lasting positive relationships in adulthood
• hazan and shaver found that adults who had a insecure resistant attachment in childhood were more likely to view love as a compulsive commitment and feared abandonment
• hazan and shaver found that adults who had a insecure avoidant attachment in childhood were more likely to fear close relationships and believe that they don't need love
• procedure of Rutter's study:

  followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans who had been adopted by families in the UK

  physical, cognitive and emotional development was assessed at ages 4,6,11,15 and 25

  a control group of 52 UK orphans adopted in the UK was used
• Rutter's study found that when the orphans first arrived in the uk, they showed delayed intellectual development. The mean IQ for those adopted before 6 months old was 102 compared to 86 for those adopted between 6months and 2 years and 77 for those adopted after aged 2
• Rutters study into Romanian orphans has real world applications. improving our understanding of institutionalised care and how to prevent the negative effects - this has meant care systems have been improved. this allows children who grow up in institutions to develop normal attachments, avoiding disinhibited attachments
• Romanian orphan studies are socially sensitive - results of most studies show children to have poor developmental outcomes - these results have been published while adoptees have been growing up. this may mean that parents or teacher will have lower expectations of the child and treat them differently