Rutter - Romanian Orphans

Slide 1

• Aim:
• -To assess whether loving & nurturing care could overturn the effects of privation the children had suffered in Romanian orphanages.

Slide 2

• Procedure:
• -A longitudinal study.
• -The independent variables was the age of adoption, with 3 age groups being studied:
• Condition 1: Children adopted before the age of 6months
• Condition 2: Children adopted between 6months to 2yrs
• Condition 3: Children adopted after 2yrs
• -The dependent variables was the children's level of cognitive functioning.
• -111 Romanina orphans were initially assessed for height, head circumference & cognitive functioning on arrival in Britain.
• -All again assessed at age 4.
• -A control group of 52 British adopted children were also assessed(to ascertain whether negative effects were due to separation from carers or the institutional conditions in Romanian orphanages)

Slide 3

• Findings:
• -Around 50% of the Romanian orphans were retarded in cognitive functioning at initial assessment & most were underweight.
• -At age of 4yrs, Romanian orphans showed great improvements in physical & cognitive development, with the orphans adopted before 6months of age doing as well as the British adopted children.

Slide 4

• Conclusion:
• -Negative effects of institutionalisation can be overcome by sensitive, nurturing care.
• -As the British adopted children did not suffer developmental outcomes, it can be seen that separation from carers will not on it's own cause negative developmental effects.

Slide 5

• Evaluation:
• -Only some of the children received detailed clinical investigations, so it is difficult to fully generalise the findings.
• -Because the children were not studied while in the Romanian orphanages, it is not possible to state which aspects of privation were more influential.