Rutters Orphan Study

• Define institutionalisation

  A period of time spent living away from the family home, e.g, in an orphanage, children's home or hospital. Although there may be adequate physical care provided, there would generally not be any provision of emotional care
• Define institutionalised

  when a person IS suffering from the long term effects of being in an Institution.
• what made the Romanian orphan studies happen?

  The former president of Romania. made, it law that women had 5 children. parents could not afford this so they abandoned chidren at an orphanage. The children experienced privation meaning they never formed attachments.
• Explain the procedure of Rutters orphan study.

  165 orphans physical, cognitive and emotional development was measured once they were adopted in Britain. This was measured at age H, 6. ll and 15. Alongside a control group of 52 British children adopted at the same time.
• Explain the findings of Rutters orphan study.

  Romanian orphans were smaller and malnourished, more likely to be mentally impared. And orphans adopted before o months tend to catch up before the age of 4
• Explain the intellectual development

  By age 11, differences started to show due to the age they were adopted. IQ 102 If adopted before 6 months, IQ 76 If adopted after 2:5 years
• what kind of attachment do Institutionalised child form?

  children adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment - attention seeking. clinginess and in apporpriate treatment of adults.
• why does Rutters experiment lack confounding variables

  All neglect /abuse causing the behaviours deffinately occured in Institutions whereas other studied may have experienced previous abuse
• what are the real life applications Of Rutters experiment?

  conditions in orphanages have improved directly as a result of rutter. Children have been given a key worker to bond with
• Does Rutters experiment have generalisability


  No, the treatment of children was so bad it cannot be compared to anything else
• Explain Zeanah's study on Romanian Orphans (support for disinhibited attachment)

  compared 136 Romanian children lages 1-2.5) who had spent over 90% of their Life in an institution to Romanian children who had never been in an institution. He found that institutionalised children are more likely to have disinhibited attachment
• How could Rutters study be more reliable?

  If children were given more time to adjust to Life in britain, they would have shown greater evidence of recovery. Longer research into 20's would have shown f institutionalisation was reversable
• summerise the possible effects of institutionalisation

  physical underdevelopment, intellectual underfunctioning, Emotional and behavioural issues. Attachment issues and disinhibitted attachment