procedure

• Procedure 

  Rutter et al.'s study was a longitudinal natural experiment that followed a cohort of 165 Romanian orphans who had experienced severe deprivation in Romanian institutions before being adopted by families in the UK. The children in the Romanian sample were recruited at varying ages, ranging from infancy to early childhood, and had spent differing lengths of time in institutional care. Many of the children suffered from severe neglect and had experienced profound privation.  
• The researchers divided the sample into three groups based on the age at which the children were adopted: 

  • Adopted before 6 months old 
• • Adopted between 6 months and 2 years old 
• • Adopted after 2 years old 
• These groups were compared to a control group of 52 British adoptees who had not experienced institutionalisation or privation. The British adoptees were matched for age at adoption and assessed in the same way, providing a baseline for typical developmental outcomes in children raised in non-deprived environments.
• Data collection occurred at multiple points: at initial adoption and later when the children were aged 4, 6, 11, and 15 years. The researchers employed a range of methods to gather comprehensive data about the children’s development. These included: structured interviews with parents; teacher questionnaires; cognitive assessments; physical measurements; behavioural observations.
• The study was designed to track changes over time and assess whether recovery from institutionalisation was possible and to what extent it depended on the timing of adoption.