effects of institutionalisation

• disinhibited attachment

  • having to many carers (Romanian orphan study) can result in children being inappropriately friendly to strangers which goes against societal norms
• mental retardation

  • emotional development and intellectual development can be severely affected as a result of institutionalisation e.g. learning difficulties
• Rutter's Romanian orphan study aim

  • what extent good care could make up for the poor experiences in institutions
• Rutter's Romanian orphan study procedure

  • studied a group of 165 Romanian orphans 165 (112 adopted before the age of 2 and 54 before age 4)
  • they were adopted in Britain
  • psychical, cognitive and emotional devewlomewnty were tested ages 4, 6, 11, and 15
  • control group of 52 British children adopted before age 6 months to compete
  • info was also collected from interviews with parents and teachers
• Rutter's Romanian orphan study results

  • at time of adoption, Romanians were behind British orphans in all areas of development
  • 58 children adopted before 6 months showed normal development and had an average IQ of 102
  • 59 children adopted after 6 months exhibited high levels of disinhibited attachment with an average IQ of 86
• Rutter's Romanian orphan study conclusion

  • there is a crucial period in life where.attachments develop, before and up to 6 months old
  • if attachments don't form there will be severe consequences
• Rutter's Romanian orphan study strengths

  • high validity and reliability - used a range of measurements to asses the children's behaviour including semi- structured interviews and a longitudinal observation
• Rutter's Romanian orphan study limitations

  • lack of generalisability - Romanian orphanages weren't typical of other types of institutional care as they were raised in very extreme conditions
  • long term effects weren't clear