Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation

• Institutionalisation

  Its when children are cared for by the state
• What are extended stays in institutions?


  E.g. Children's homes, Hospitals etc
• What are effects of extended stays in institutions?

  -Extended stays in institutions are thought to ALTER behaviour such as the adoption of the rules and norms of the institution

  -As institutions are UNABLE to provide the same level of physical and emotional care to young children as FAMILIES, institutionalisation is thought to INFLUENCE childhood DEVELOPMENT negatively
• Deprivation vs Privation?

  -As defined by Bowlby, deprivation is not receiving suitable emotional care from a primary attachment figure, this can happen with frequent/extended absences of the primary caregiver -However Privatisation is more severe - its the total lack of care, there is no ability to form an attachment bond
• Institutional privation

  -The fall of the Romanian government in 1990 led to the discovery of an estimated 170,000 abandoned children living in privation in orphanages

  -They lacked physical and emotional care from the staff, and many of the children were malnourished and abused

  -Many of these children were adopted into loving Western families and the varying ages at adoption allowed researchers to conduct a natural experiment - Rutter ERA (1998-2011)
• What did Rutter do ?

  Rutter ERA (1998-2011) conducted a longitudinal study of 165 Romanian orphans who were adopted into British families
• Rutter procedure?

  -The Romanian children were grouped into those adopted while under 6 months, between 6 months and 2 yrs, and those older than 2

  -A control group of British adoptees who had not experienced privation were included in the study

  -Each group were assessed at the ages of 4,6,11 and 15
• Rutter main findings at age 6?

  At age 6:

  -Children adopted 6 months showed disinhibited attachment, an overly friendly behaviour to strange adults

  -This was more common in those adopted after two years old
• Rutter main findings at age 11?

  At age 11:

  -Over half the children who showed disinhibited attachment at age 6 still displayed this behaviour

  -Children adopted after 6 months also showed significant delayed physical, emotional and intellectual development

  -Children adopted after a year had an average IQ of 77 compared to 102 for those adopted under six months

  -In a small number of cases, quasi-autism tendencies were identified, with children having problems understanding the meaning of social contexts
• Rutter findings at 15 yrs?

  -Intellectual problems continued at the 15 year follow up
• What does Rutter's research suggest?

  -It suggests that adoption within the first six months is important as the rate of recovery depends on age at adoption and the effects of privatisation in institutions are severe and long-lasting

  -However many children even adopted after two year show recovery, suggesting the critical period argued by Bowlby is a sensitive period
• Evaluation - Zeanah et al (2005)


  -Evidence to support Rutter et al's findings comes from Zeanah et al (2005):

  -They found that Romanian children who had spent 90% of their lives in an institution showed signs of disinhibited (attention seeking, clingy, indiscriminate behaviour towards adult) attachment by the age of 1-2 and a half years.

  -This is a positive because it supports Rutter's conclusion that early institutional care can have severe effects such as disinhibited attachment.
• Evaluation

  -One strength of the research into the effects of institutionalisation is that it has had many practical applications:

  -This means that studying Romanian orphans has improved the way children are cared for in institutions.

  -For example, Hospital's and children's homes now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child and instead ensure that a perhaps only one or two play a central role for the child (called 'key workers')

  -This is a positive because the research has been immensely valuable in improving orphan's lives in the real world.
• Evaluation - internal validity

  However, one problem with Romanian orphan studies is that they lack control over the conditions experienced in the orphanages in Romanian. This means that the studies all measured the age at which the children were adopted and their development in later life but this doesn't account for the different levels of care different children might have experienced before adoption. For example, Rutter has suggested some children may have received special attention in the institution,

  perhaps because they smiled more, and this would mean they did have some early attachment experiences. This is a problem as this may have played a part in their later development and means the research may lack internal validity.