Romanian orphan studies: Institutionalisation

• Rutter et al. (2011) 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.
• 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.
• Frequency of disinhibited attachment was related to the age at 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.
• These findings support Bowlby's view that there is a sensitive period in the development of attachments - a failure to form an attachment before the age of 6 months appears to have long-lasting effects.
• Zeanah et al. (2005)'s procedure:

  The researchers used the Strange Situation to assess attachment in 95 Romanian children aged 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care. They were compared to a control group of 50 children who had never experienced institutional care.
• Zeanah et al. (2005)'s findings:

  Only 19% of the institutionalised group were securely attached (74% of controls). 44% of the institutionalised group had characteristics of disinhibited attachment (20% of the controls).
• Effects of institutionalisation:

  • Disinhibited attachment.
  • Damage to intellectual development.
• Disinhibited attachment:


  Such children tend to be equally friendly and affectionate towards people they know well or total strangers. This may be an adaptation to multiple caregivers.
• Damage to intellectual development:

  Institutionalised children often show signs of intellectual disability. This effect is not as pronounced if the children are adopted before 6 months of age.
• AO3 - Real-world application:


  Results from this research has led to improvements in the way children are cared for in institutions. Children's homes now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child. They have one or two 'key workers' who play a central role. This means children in institutional care have a chance to develop normal attachments and disinhibited attachment is avoided.
• AO3 - Fewer confounding variables than other research:

  There were many orphan studies before the Romanian orphans became available to study. These often involved children who experienced loss or trauma before they were institutionalised. Neglect, abuse and bereavement meant it was hard to observe the effects of institutionalisation in isolation. The children were affected by multiple factors functioning as confounding variables. This means we can be fairly sure that differences in institutionally-cared-for children are the result of this type of care (high internal validity).
• AO3 - Lack of data on adult development:

  It is too soon to say for certain whether children suffered permanent effects because we only have data on their development as far as their early twenties. It will be some time before we have information about some key research questions (eg. orphans' ability to form and maintain romantic and parenting relationships). This means the Romanian orphan studies have not yet yielded their most important findings, some children may 'catch up'.
• AO3 - Social sensitivity:

  Late-adopted children were shown to have low IQ. This might subsequently affect how they are treated by parents, teachers etc. and might create a self-fulfilling prophecy. On the other hand, much has been learned from the Romanian orphan studies that might benefit future institutionalised or potentially institutionalised children. So the potential benefits of the studies probably outweigh their social sensitivity.