Romanian orphan studies: The effects of institutionalisation
Context: Romanian president in 1990s requested that women have 5 kids to boost
population, he forbode abortion and institutions became overpopulated and standards
dropped.
Rutters ERA (English & Romanian adoptee study)
Longitudinal study in a natural experimental design, using independent groups ( found differences in
the effects of institutions depending on Age of adoption when adopted in Britain (compared to
British child control group) to test the extent that good care can make up for poor early experiences
in institutions.
Findings: 1/2 showed intellectual and malnourished issues, differential rate of recovery depending
on age of adoption. If adopted after six months, child displays ‘disinhibited attachment’ (attention
seeking clinginess to all adults).
Mean IQ rates: Before 6 months – 102 IQ 6 month-2 years – 86 IQ After 2 years – 77 IQ
suggests delayed intellectual development is more likely, the longer they spend in institution
Zeannah’s Bucharest early intervention project
Compared children who lived in institutions with those who hadn’t and found 74% of the control
group were securely attached, but only 19% of the institutionalised group were secure,
institutionalised were more likely to show insecure (disorganised) attachment types.
Generally, this type of research has found that the effects of institutionalisation can be overcome
with sensitive and nurturing care.
Evaluation of Romanian orphan studies A03
Facilitated real change: enhanced our understanding of the negative effects of institutionalisation
for example, the importance of foster care rather than orphanages and even daytime care such as
nursery, it has improved the function of social working i.e., introduction of key workers. Singer states
how children can attach equally to foster parents as they can with biological, this shows how studies
have raised awareness to give children higher chance of forming healthy attachment types rather
than disinhibited or disorganised ones.
Counterpoint: However, it is difficult to generalise results from Romanian orphan studies to all
institutions because the quality of care varies dramatically, the standards of care and stimulation in
Romania are so bad, that perhaps the effects only fit to Romanian institutions and may not be found
in institutions with higher quality of care.
Methodological issues: Issues with the way the groups were assigned. For example, in Rutters study
the children’s age of adoption were not randomly allocated, suggesting he did not regulate the
process. This means that those adopted earlier may have just been more sociable, this confounding
variable makes it difficult to draw conclusions. Though Zeanah did randomly allocate to conditions,
so the methodology is sounder and findings more generalisable, though it does raise ethical issues,
as purposeful damage was done to the children for this research. Therefore, the methods of
Romanian orphan studies are criticised on several grounds.
Context: Romanian president in 1990s requested that women have 5 kids to boost
population, he forbode abortion and institutions became overpopulated and standards
dropped.
Rutters ERA (English & Romanian adoptee study)
Longitudinal study in a natural experimental design, using independent groups ( found differences in
the effects of institutions depending on Age of adoption when adopted in Britain (compared to
British child control group) to test the extent that good care can make up for poor early experiences
in institutions.
Findings: 1/2 showed intellectual and malnourished issues, differential rate of recovery depending
on age of adoption. If adopted after six months, child displays ‘disinhibited attachment’ (attention
seeking clinginess to all adults).
Mean IQ rates: Before 6 months – 102 IQ 6 month-2 years – 86 IQ After 2 years – 77 IQ
suggests delayed intellectual development is more likely, the longer they spend in institution
Zeannah’s Bucharest early intervention project
Compared children who lived in institutions with those who hadn’t and found 74% of the control
group were securely attached, but only 19% of the institutionalised group were secure,
institutionalised were more likely to show insecure (disorganised) attachment types.
Generally, this type of research has found that the effects of institutionalisation can be overcome
with sensitive and nurturing care.
Evaluation of Romanian orphan studies A03
Facilitated real change: enhanced our understanding of the negative effects of institutionalisation
for example, the importance of foster care rather than orphanages and even daytime care such as
nursery, it has improved the function of social working i.e., introduction of key workers. Singer states
how children can attach equally to foster parents as they can with biological, this shows how studies
have raised awareness to give children higher chance of forming healthy attachment types rather
than disinhibited or disorganised ones.
Counterpoint: However, it is difficult to generalise results from Romanian orphan studies to all
institutions because the quality of care varies dramatically, the standards of care and stimulation in
Romania are so bad, that perhaps the effects only fit to Romanian institutions and may not be found
in institutions with higher quality of care.
Methodological issues: Issues with the way the groups were assigned. For example, in Rutters study
the children’s age of adoption were not randomly allocated, suggesting he did not regulate the
process. This means that those adopted earlier may have just been more sociable, this confounding
variable makes it difficult to draw conclusions. Though Zeanah did randomly allocate to conditions,
so the methodology is sounder and findings more generalisable, though it does raise ethical issues,
as purposeful damage was done to the children for this research. Therefore, the methods of
Romanian orphan studies are criticised on several grounds.
