AO3

• Institutionalisation: Evaluation Points

  • Sensitive period research
  • Longitudal studies
  • Uncontrolled extraneous variables
• Institutionalisation: Sensitive Period Research

  Some research suggests that infants who do not attach within the sensitive period cannot recover and have disinhibited attachment. However this is not true for all children who experience privation. Rutter found that those adopted before 6 months rarely display DA and is more likely to occur when there is privation and then poor care. Hodges and Tizard found that those who returned or remained had weak family relationships.
• Institutionalisation: Longitudal Studies


  Rutter and Hodges & Tizard's studies were longitudal as they used the same participants over time. This removes cofounding participant variables and was conducted as a natural experiment, creating high ecological validity. There was also real life application as findings from studies highlighted the effects of poor care which led to a change in care standards of institutions.
• Institutionalisation: Uncontrolled Extraneous Variables

  Research into the effects of institutionalisation was conducted as natural experiment, meaning that there was no control over extraneous variables. In Hodges & Tizard's study, there was high levels of participant attrition which decreases the validity of results. Research was unable to determine the quality of care from adopted families which questions the findings that good quality care leads to recovery from MD. All ppts in the studies were Romanian which is not representative of the population, cant be generalised.