Evaluation

• Real world application

  One strength of the Romanian orphan studies is their application to improve conditions for children growing up outside of their family home:

  • Improved orphanage conditions
  • Institutional care avoided where possible
  • Large number of caregivers avoided
  • Sparling et al - introduced interventions (small group size, stable relationships etc) and found that they are universally beneficial
• Longitudinal studies

  One strength of the Romanian Orphan studies is that they have been measured using longitudinal studies, which is a strength because:

  • Eliminates participant variables as the same people are being measured
  • Genuine change can be seen over time
  • Long-term effects
• Fewer confounding variables

  One strength of the Romanian studies is the lack of confounding variables. Many of the children studied in orphanages in previous studies had suffered varying degrees of trauma, and it is difficult to disentangle the effects of neglect from those of institutional care. However, the children in the Romanian studies were less likely to have suffered this trauma, resulting in higher internal validity.
• Lack of adult data

  One limitation of the Romanian orphanage studies is the current lack of data on adult development. The latest data from the ERA studied the children in their late 20s. This means that there is no data covering the long-term effects of institutional care. This means it will be some time before we know more completely what the long-term effects are for the Romanian orphans. It is possible that late-adopted children may catch up.