Institutionalisation

• Institutionalization is found to influence childhood development negatively - deprivation is not receiving suitable emotional care from a primary attachment figure, and privation is a total lack of care so there's no ability to form an attachment Bond
• Rutter's longitudinal study of 165 Romanian orphans found that children adopted after 2 years old showed more disinhibited attachment, delayed physical emotional and intellectual development, and in some cases quasi autism tendencies
• The Romanian orphan research has changed policies around adoption and care in orphanages
• Bowlby argues if children miss a window for development the harm is permanent, however studies often show recovery is possible with later care
• The continuity hypothesis suggests individuals' future relationships will follow a pattern based on the internal working model developed from their infant attachment
• Institutionalization


  living in an institutional setting (eg. hospital/orphanage) with very little emotional care
• Rutter et al -English Romanian Adoptee (ERA)


  • 165 Romanian orphans adopted by UK families
  • assessed emotional, cognitive, and physical development at ages:
  • 4, 6, 11, 15, 22-25
  • compared to 52 UK-adopted children
• Orphanage is an institution where children are cared for over a long period of time
• Orphanage children often lack emotional care and are interested in any adult who pays attention to them
• After the Romanian revolution many of the children were adopted, some by British parents
• Zeanah et al.'s research


  1. Assessed attachment in 95 Romanian children aged 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutions

  2. Compared to 50 children who had never lived in an institution

  3. Measured attachment using Strange Situation and asked carers about disinhibited attachment
• Disinhibited attachment


  Children are equally friendly and affectionate towards familiar people and strangers, highly unusual behaviour
• Rutter - Disinhibited attachment


  Adaptation to living with multiple caregivers during sensitive period for attachment formation
• Damage to intellectual development from institutionalisation can be recovered if adoption is before 6 months
• Zeanah et al - findings


  The number of securely attached varied:

  19% = Romanian children

  74% = control (never lived in institutions)

  The number classed as disinhibited attachment:

  44% = institutionalised

  20% = control
• Intellectual disibility


  • Most showed an intellectual disability when arriving in Britain
  • if adopted before 6 months they could catch up intellectually by 4 years of age.
• Rutter - IQ


  adopted before 6 months = 107

  between 6mths-2yrs = 86

  after 2 years = 77

  Beckett - differences remained at 16
• Kennedy - ADHD


  more common in 15 and 22-25 year olds samples
• Goldfarb (1943) - institution vs foster care


  15 institutional 6 months to 3½ years

  15 foster care

  By age three, institution-raised children:

  • Scored lower in abstract thinking
  • Showed less social maturity
  • Into adolescence (10-14 years):
  • Average IQ of 72 compared to foster care group's average IQ of 95
• Langton - helped improve institutions


  • One to two key workers per child to prevent disinhibited attach
  • increased efforts to place children in foster care/adoption instead of institutionalization
• Social sensitivity


  • publication of data breach anonymity and privacy
  • may have resulted in differing treatment and potentially creating a self-fulfilling prophecy
• Fewer confounding variables


  • WW2 orphans are more likely to suffer from neglect/physical abuse before institutionalization
  • Less traumatic experiences as higher likelihood of being handed over by loving parents who cannot afford it
  • increases internal validity
• Unrepresentative of normal institutions


  • extremely low emotional and intellectual stimulation
  • average orphan has better conditions
  • instead reflects poor institutional care not institutions in general