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Romanian Orphan Studies: The Effects of

Institutionalisation
Institutionalisation occurs when children spend a substantial period living in an
institution such as an orphanage or childrens home. As a result of
institutionalisation many children experience deprivation, however some children
may experience privation.

Deprivation

Privation

If the infant has formed an

attachment at home prior to
institutionalisation they may
experience a loss of
attachment = deprivation

If the infant has not formed an

attachment at home prior to
institutionalisation they have a
lack of attachment = privation

Researchers have been interested in the long-term effects of institutionalisation.

Romanian Orphan Studies

Rutter et al (2011) English and Romanian Adoption Study
Procedure
Rutter et al (2011) followed 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain - they
wanted to see what extent good care could make up for poor early experiences
of institutions. The childrens physical, cognitive and emotional development was
assessed at different age, 4, 6, 11 and 15 (longitudinal study). The results of
these children were compared with 52 British children adopted at the same time
control group.
Results/findings
When the children first arrived in the UK half were showing signs of mental
retardation and the majority were undernourished. At age 11 it was found that
recovery was correlated with the childs age when they were adopted.

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Adopted before six months old IQ, = 102

Adopted when they were older than 6 months but less than (<) 2 years old, IQ =
86
Adopted after the age of 2 years, IQ = 77
Plot on the graph below:

According to Beckett et al (2010) these differences remained at age 16. Children

adopted after the after the age of six months also showed signs of a disinhibited
attachment
Define a disinhibited attachment
This is attention seeking and clingy behaviour, and social behaviour to adults,
friends and stranger, no signs of separation anxiety)

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Conclusions
Rutter et als (2011) results suggest that with good subsequent emotional care
recovery from institutionalisation is possible. However the results also indicate
that recovery is only possible if adoption/subsequent emotional care are offered
at a sufficiently young age to reverse the effects of institutionalisation.
Evaluation
Research by Rutter and others has led to a better understanding
of the effects of institutionalisation and has led to some useful
practical applications.

Point
Explain

For example it has improved caring qualities in care homes

as now they use smaller number of carerers to look after a
child (1-2 carers) this is to allow the infant to make scure
attachents.

Elabora
te

This shows that the research has had a large impact on child care
practices

However the results of the research are difficult to generalise as Romanian

Orphanages are not typical of other institutions. The poor standards of care and
lack of intellectual stimulation that took place are unusual situational variables
that may not be present in other institutions. Therefore it may not be possible to
claim that other institutions would cause the same negative effects.

To avoid ethical issues, children were not assigned to adoption at any stage,
however this may mean that there are confounding variables that could have
had an impact. It is possible that children that appeared more sociable (e.g.
smiling more) were adopted sooner and as a result of their sociable disposition
they recovered faster and more effectively. Therefore it is not clear whether it is
age at adoption or the original sociability led to the differences in recovery.
The Bucharest Early Intervention Project

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Procedure:
Assessed attachments in 95 children aged 12-31 months who had spent most of
their lives in institutional care (90%). These children were compared to control
group of 50 children who had never lived in an institution (fostered). Attachments
were measured using the Strange Situation and carers were interviewed about
unusual social behaviour (disinhibited attachment).

Results

Conclusion
What do the results indicate about the effects of institutionalisation?
That those that are instutionalised are more likely to have a disorganised and/ or
disinhibited attachment.

Evaluation
The Bucharest study avoided confounding variables by randomly assigning
children to either fostering or institutions. In methodological terms this is better
as it leads to higher internal validity.
As the data collection involved interviews with carers there may be some issues
with the reliability of the data. It is not clear whether the carers reports of the
childrens behaviours are an accurate reflection of the childrens general
behaviour or not.

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Effects of Institutionalisation
Complete the table using the textbooks
Type of effect
Disinhibited
attachment

Evidence
Rutter (2006) states that disinhibited behaviour happens
due to children having multiple carers sometimes 50, this
makes it harder for infants to form secure attachments.

Mental retardation

In Rutter experiment those who were adopted before six

months had an iq of 102, whereas those who were
adopted after six months had an iq of 86, while those who
were adopted after 2 years had an average iq of 77.

Physical
underdevelopment

Children lacking emotional care may be extremely under

developed, as the productions of hormones are affected
by severe emotional disturbances which can cause
dwarfism.
For instance the case of Genie, she was deprived from
emotional care and was severely physically
underdeveloped and found it difficult to form
attachments.

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As well as the Czech Twins who were also deprived of
emotional care and was underdeveloped, however once
adopted they grew healthier.

Poor parenting

Quiton et 1984, women who were raised in institutions

had extreme difficulties when acting as parents