Romanian Orphan Studies: effects of Institutionalisation

• define institutionalisation


  - extended stays in institutions such as children's homes and hospitals are thought to alter behaviour, as institutions are unable to provide the same level of physical and emotional care to young children

  - thought to negatively influence childhood development
• deprivation vs. privation

  - deprivation: not receiving suitable emotional care from a primary attachment figure, can happen with frequent or extended absences of the primary caregiver

  - privation: more severe, the total lack of care, so there is no ability to form an attachment bind
• Rutter (Romanian Orphans), procedure


  - 165 Romanian children grouped into those adopted whilst under 6 months, between 6 months and 2 yrs, and those older than 2 yrs

  - control group of British adoptees who had not experienced privation

  - each group assessed at the ages of: 4, 6, 11 and 15
• Rutter, findings: at age 6


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

  - more common in those adopted after 2 yrs old
• Rutter, findings: at age 11


  - over half the child 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 24 months had an av IQ of 77 compared to 102 of those adopted under 6 months

  - quasi autism tendencies identified in a small number of cases
• Rutter, conclusions

  - adoption within the first 6 months is important as the rate of recovery depends on age at adoption

  - effects of privation in institutions are severe and long-lasting; however, many children adopted after 2 yrs show recovery

  - suggesting the critical period argued by Bowlby is a sensitive period
• A03, Rutter


  - practical applications: changed policies around adoption and care in orphanages and other institutional settings

  - helped to support pre-existing theories: the issues Romanian orphans adopted at a large age have with social development suggest the first few months are vital for forming an internal working model (Bowlby)

  - sensitive period vs. critical period
• outline the historical background of the Romanian Orphans

  • the fall of the communist government in 1989 revealed conditions of 300,000 Romanian orphans suffering privation
• weakness of Ritter (2011)

  • infants were not randomly assigned to when they were adopted (natural experiment), it may have been more sociable infants (eye contact) were picked first
• outline Goldfarb‘s (1947) findings

  • early fostering in British children led to higher IQ and social skills