Romanian Orphan Studies-Institutionalisation

• The Exodus is underway Romania has precious little that the world wants except its children it's Romania 1980 and just like any other country hundreds of children are being born every day however in this country at that time their parents were forced to do something that most parents would never ever want to do these children most of them less than a month old were sent away to huge orphanages to be raised in places like this
• Why did this happen how did this affect the children and where are some of them today
• Institution


  Living outside your family home in places like children's homes hospitals or orphanages where many children live for a long period of time
• Nikolai chesu was the Communist ruler of Romania


  1960s
• Nikolai chesu's beliefs


  • He could help grow the economy and wealth of the country through population growth
  • By 1977 people were taxed for being childless
  • The expectation was for families to have five children
  • Contraception was banned in the country
• By the 1980s Romania had very little money because of its struggling economy and this meant that they had an overpopulated country without the money to care for its children and so parents were left with the terrible situation where they were completely unable to provide for their children and were left with sending them to huge orphanages
• Conditions in these orphanages varied from poor to appalling the children were confined to cots there were few if any toys or play things very little talk from caregivers and an environment that was frequently physically harsh
• It was estimated that at least 100,000 children were sent to these orphanages
• Dictator Nicola chesu was killed and it was in the days that followed that these hidden away orphanages came to light


  Christmas day in 1989
• Media from around the world came to investigate and reveal what had been going on these TV reports made their way into the living rooms of homes in the United Kingdom and moved many families to want to adopt these children
• This couple broke the law to give two orphans a home with so many families in Britain adopting Romanian children the English and Romania adoptee study was set up to follow a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in the UK
• Longitudinal study


  Followed the children over a long period of time
• The study compared the 165 Romanian orphans with a control group of 52 British children who had not been in an institution but had been adopted before the age of 6 months
• Both groups of children were first assessed at four years of age using a combination of Parental reports direct observations and psychometric assessments and Then followed up again at 6 11 and 15 years age
• While those adopted early quickly caught up with the British children the catch up in both physical growth and cognitive abilities appeared nearly complete at four years for those children who came to the UK before the age of 6 months but serious problems continued in a minority of the children adopted after the age of 6 months
• Unusual patterns in the Romanian orphans

  • Quasi autism
  • Disinhibited attachment
  • Inattention and overactivity
  • Cognitive impairment
• The average IQ score is 100 for those adopted before 6 months of age the mean IQ was 102 at age 11 for those adopted between 6 months and 2 years the mean IQ was 86 at 11 for those adopted after two 2 years the mean IQ was 77
• Rutter's conclusion having followed the children up to the age of 15 years was that the effects of institutional deprivation are not fixed for many they can recover the damaging effects of institutional care can be reversed given a supportive and strong adoptive family
• Romanian orphan studies


  Research on the effects of institutionalization on children
• Chugani et al. (2001) study

  1. Scanned brains of adopted Romanian orphans

  2. Compared to normal adults and children

  3. Found dysfunction in brain regions responsible for impulsivity, attention, social skills, and cognitive abilities
• Findings of Chugani et al. (2001)

  • Being raised in an institution can affect brain development, resulting in long-term effects displayed by Romanian orphans
• Practical applications of research on institutionalization

  • Importance of a key worker for children in institutions
  • Importance of early adoption
  • Importance of quality of care and adoption after institutionalization
• Generalizing results from Romanian orphan studies


  Difficult because they represent extreme situations, not typical of institutional care
• Long-term effects of institutionalization

  Not yet clear, as research only followed children up to age 15
• Potential negative implications of research findings for adopted children
• Importance of psychologists communicating research findings carefully to avoid wrong conclusions and implications