Flashcards
Institutionalisation
Flashcards do conjunto (8)
- 1Effects of InstitutionalisationRomanian Orphans
- 2Romanian Orphan Key Study: Rutter et al (2010)- Led a study of Romanian orphans from the early 1990s
- 165 Rom. children who spent their early lives in institutions and suffered the effects
- 111 were adopted before 2yrs, & 54 by 4yrs
- Tested at 4, 6, 11 & 15 for development
- Results were compared to 52 UK children that were adopted before 6 months - 3Rutter et al (2010)- At adoption, the Romanian children lagged behind UK children in all measures of development and were classed as mentally retarded
- By 4yrs many Romanian children caught up with UK children in development
- Long-term effects are less severe if given the chance to form attachments - 4Other Romanian Orphan Studies- Le Mare et al (2006)
- 36 Romanian orphans were adopted into Canadian families
- Adopted orphans were physically smaller than a control group of the same age
- This difference had disappeared by 10 1/2yrs - 5Effects of Institutionalisation- Physical underdevelopment (poor nourishment)
- Intellectual underfunctioning (cognitive development)
- Disinhibited attachment (insecure attachment where infants do not discriminate between attachment figures)
- Poor parenting (Harlow's study) - 6EvaluationIndividual differences
> Individuals who do not form a primary attachment within the early sensitive period are unable to recover = not true for all children in institutes
> Some children may have received 'special treatment' and were less affected - 7EvaluationReal-life application
> Research into institutionalisation is to apply knowledge to institutions and improve the lives of those from infancy
> Mothers were encouraged to nurse the infants for a certain period of time before adoption = secure attachments could not form - 8EvaluationValue of longitudinal studies
> Studies followed the lives of many children through childhood
> Without these studies we may misconclude that there are major effects due to early institutional care, whereas some effects may disappear over time