EVALUATION - ROMAINIAN ORPHANAGES

EVALUATION - ROMAINIAN ORPHANAGES

1. (+) Research looks @ children who have been placed in real institutions so = high ecological validity - reflective of real life.

   • (+) Rutter’s study = longitudinal so assessed effects of individuals over time - eliminates individual differences + allows us to see effects of institutions over time rather than looking @ short-term effects.
     • (+) Research - good real-life application - enhanced understanding of effects of institutionalisation + led to improvements in way children = cared for in them E.G. orphanages + children’s homes now avoid large numbers of caregivers for each child - instead introduced ‘key workers’ - means children have chance to develop normal attachments (not disinhibited attachment - clingy and attention-seeking).

2. (-) Romanian orphans = not typical of all children that live in institutions. Romanian orphanages = particularly poor + lack intellectual stimulation - therefore lacks generalizability.

   • (-) Many studies before studied children who = exposed to trauma + loss before being institutionalised- means their behaviour may = affected by those factors - not just institutions - shows extraneous variables may affect findings.