Evaluation

• 2 strengths

  Real-world application and fewer confounding variables
• 1 limitation

  Lack of adult data
• Real-world application

  Improved psychologists' understanding of the effects of early institutional care and how to prevent the worst of these effects

  Led to improved conditions experienced by looked-after children - children's homes tend to have 1 or 2 'key workers' who play a central role in their emotional care

  Institutional care is less desirable so more effort is made to accommodate children in foster care or have them adopted

  Children in institutional care now have a chance to develop normal attachments and disinhibited attachment is avoided
• Fewer confounding variables

  Many children studied in orphanages before the Romanian orphans had experienced varying degrees of trauma, and it is difficult to disentangle the effect of neglect, physical abuse, and bereavement

  Romanian orphans had been mostly handed over by loving parents who simply couldn't afford to keep them - results are less likely to be confounded by other negative experiences, causing high internal validity
• Lack of adult data

  The latest data from the ERA study looked at children in their early to mid-20s

  There is no data to answer questions about long-term effects of early institutional care, such as mental health problems and success in forming and maintaining romantic and parental relationships

  It would take a long time to gather data due to the longitudinal design of the study - participants have to be followed over many years

  It will be some time before we know more completely what the long-term effects are for Romanian orphans, as it is possible that late adopted children may catchup