Institutionalisation is a term for the effects of living outside the family/family home in an institutional setting. The term ‘institution’ refers to a place like a hospital or an orphanage where children live for long, continuous periods of time. This can result in the child adopting rules and norms of the institution and that can impair functioning
Summary findings
Strength (research into institutionalisation)
Real life application - studying the
Romanian orphans has enhanced our understanding of the effects of institutionalisation. Such results have led to improvements in the way children are cared for in institutions.
Limitation (research into institutionalisation)
The Romanian Orphans were not typical – it is possible that the
conditions were so bad that the results cannot be applied to understanding the impact of better quality institutional care or indeed any situations where children experience deprivation.
