Romanian Orphan Studies

• Institutionalisation

  The effects of living in an institutional setting such as an orphanage or hospital
• Rutter et al (2011)

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

  Assessed physical, cognitive and emotional development at 4, 6, 11, 15 and 22 years
• what kind of study did Rutter do?

  longitudinal
• Rutter - findings

  • hAlf of the adoptees had delayed intellectual development
  • mean IQ of children adopted after critical period was 77
  • ADHD was more common in 15-25 year olds
  • children adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment
• symptoms of disinhibited attachment

  attention seeking

  clinginess

  indiscriminate social behaviour
• key effects of institutionalisation

  • disinhibited attachment
  • intellectual disability
• Zeanah et al

  conducted strange situation on 95 Romanian orphans aged 12-31 months

  44% of the Romanian children showed disinhibited attachment compared to 20% in the control group who never lived in an institution
• strengths of romanian orphan studies

  • real world applications - understanding effects of institutionalisation led to improvements of care for children in orphanages + institutional care is now avoided
  • Few confounding variables - most children were given up by loving families due to financial reasons
• weaknesses of romanian orphan studies

  • some confounding variables - some orphans also suffered physical neglect and lack of intellectual stimulation, not just emotional neglect - findings may be due to poor institutional care rather than just the setting
  • lack of data from ppts adult life - raises questions about the long term impacts of institutionalisation eg. mental health, relationships, parenthood