Orphan studies

• Rutter et al's. research

  A group of 165 Romanian orphans were studied. They were adopted by families in the UK from ages 4, 6, 11, 15. A control group of 52 UK children were adopted at the same time.

  At first, the Romanian adoptees showed signs of intellectual impairment. Those adopted before six months had higher IQs and as their age progressed their IQs were lower. Also, the children adopted after six months showed disinhibited attachment (attention-seeking, clinginess).
• Limitation) Lack of adult data

  The latest data from the study looked at the children in their early 20s. This means that there is no data to answer any questions relating to the long-term effects of institutional care. (Internal working models)

  Strength) Lack of confounding variables

  The orphans investigated all came from previously loving families that couldn't afford to keep them. This means the results were less likely to be confounded by other negative early experiences.