(ERA)

• Rutter conducted a natural longitudinal study on a group of around 100 Romanian orphans. The aim of the study was to investigate the extent to which quality care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions and maternal deprivation. Physical, cognitive and emotional development was assessed at ages 4, 6, 11,1 5 and 22-25. A group of 52 children from the UK adopted around the same time act as a control group.
• When the adopted children first came to the UK, the majority were severely malnourished and half showed signs of delayed intellectual development. At age 11, the adopted children showed different rates of recovery related to the age they got adopted. The mean IQ of children adopted before they were 6 months old was 102, for those after 6 months but before 2 years was 86 and for those adopted after 2 years was 77. Beckett found these differences to remain at 16 years of age. Kennedy found ADHD was more common in 15 and 22-25 year old samples.
• Children adopted after 6 months showed signs of disinhibited attachment ; attention seeking, clinginess, social behaviour directed indiscriminately towards all adults familiar or unfamiliar. In contrast, those adopted before 6 months rarely showed disinhibited attachment.