ROMAN ORPHANS STUDIES: INSTITUTIONALISATION

• Effects of institutionalisation 


  • Physical underdevelopment = deprivation dwarfism (physically small).
  • Intellectual underfunctioning = cognitive development is affected.
  • Disinhibited attachment = a form of insecure attachment, where children will treat near-strangers with inappropriate familiarity (over friendliness) and attention seeking.
  • Poor parenting = those exposed to privation experience difficulties in raising their own children.
• RUTTER ET AL (2011) ENGLISH AND ROMANIAN ADOPTEE STUDY (ERA)

  Procedure

  The researchers have followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans who experienced very poor conditions before being adopted in the UK.

  This longitudinal study has tested the extent to which good care can make up for poor early experiences in institutions. Physical, cognitive and emotional development has been assessed at 4, 6, 11, 15 and 22-25 years.

  The study also followed a control group of 52 adopted children from the UK. 
• RUTTER ET AL (2011) ENGLISH AND ROMANIAN ADOPTEE STUDY (ERA)

  Findings and conclusions

  Half of the orphans showed delayed intellectual development when they came to the UK. at age 11 recovery rates were related to their age at adoption:

  • Those adopted before 6 months had a mean IQ of 102.
  • Those adopted after 2 years had a mean IQ of 77.

  These differences continued to be apparent at age 16 (BECKETT ET AL 2010)
• RUTTER ET AL (2011) ENGLISH AND ROMANIAN ADOPTEE STUDY (ERA)

  Findings and conclusions

  Frequency of disinhibited attachment related to the age of adoption. 

  • Apparent in children adopted after they were 6 months old: clinginess, attention-seeking, and indiscriminate affection to strangers.
  • Rare in children adopted before the age of 6 months. 
• RUTTER ET AL (2011) ENGLISH AND ROMANIAN ADOPTEE STUDY (ERA)

  Findings and conclusions

  These findings support Bowlby’s view that there ios a sensitive critical period in the development of attachments - a failure to form attachment before the age of 6 months (and after the age of 2 years old) appears to have long-l;asting effects.