Early Experience The Case of Institutionalization and Attachment

Early experience and later development Are children irreparably damaged by early experiences? Are there sensitive periods? Can intervention overcome early deprivation?

Early Research on Institutionalized Children Dennis: Lebanese children –3 groups of children Adopted before 2 years Adopted 2-6 years Never adopted Outcome depended on length of time in institution, and on gender Tizard: UK children –4 groups of children Those who remained in orphanage Those returned to family after 2 years Those adopted between two and 8 years of age Control group of working class children Length of stay important, and children who were adopted did better than restored children.

K. MacLean’s Study of Romanian Orphans Birth control and abortion illegal Maternal mortality rates the highest in Europe. Foreign debt December, 1989: Ceausescu regime overthrown in Romania Government claims 65,000 children under the age of 13 in orphanage.

The Comparison Groups Romanian Orphanage Group (RO) n = 46 at least 8 months in orphanage Median age at adoption: 18.5 mo Median age at Time 1 interview :30 mo. Median age at Time 2 interview: 53 mo.

Canadian-born group (CB) n = 46 Non-adopted, never institutionalized Matched to RO children on sex and age. Did not differ from RO group on demographic variables

Early adopted group (EA) n = 29 Romanian children who would have gone to orphanage had they not been adopted before 4 months of age (median age at adoption 2 months).

Risk Factors in RO group IQ of 85 or lower: 46% of RO group Atypical insecure attachment pattern : 33% of RO group Severe behavior problems: 43% of RO group. Stereotyped behavior at Time 2 : 41% of RO group

Factors Related to Having a Serious Problem in RO group Length of time spent in the institution. Number of Romanian children adopted. The lower the family income, the younger the mother, and the lower SES Child selected by father alone.

Conclusions Does Romanian project support idea of irreparable damage in the first 2 years of life? NO Rutter claims need to take into account: –vulnerability and resilience –Multiplicity of risk factors –Protective factors Transactional model of development