Hodges and Tizard Study

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The aim of Hodges and Tizard's study was to examine the effect of institutional upbringing on later attachments. Related to this they were also investigating if early deprivation effects could be reversed or at least modified and investigating whether there are critical or sensitive periods for the development of behaviour. To study the effects of early experience on later development Hodges and Tizard used a longitudinal approach. A longitudinal approach is where a group of participants are followed up after a period of time, in this case 16 years. To collect their data Hodges and Tizard used various self-report measures, interviews, and assessment scales, with the participants themselves (adolescents) and their parents and teachers. The participants in the study were all aged 16 and had all been in institutional care until at least two years of age. At this age most of the children had either been adopted or restored to biological parents. The study focused on 31 ex-institutional children. A comparison group was also studied. Hodges and Tizard compared their group of children with a matched group who had been with their families throughout their lives. Two comparison groups of children were established. One was drawn from the London area, and was made up of 16-year-old children who were matched one for one with the ex-institutional children on the basis of sex, position in the family, whether they were from one- or two-parent families, and the occupation of their family's main breadwinner. The other comparison group consisted a same-sex school friend (of the same age) for each of the ex-institutional children. Five main methods were used to collect data on all the adolescents (including those in the comparison groups): 1. An interview with the adolescent subject; 2. An interview with the mother (in some cases with their father present); 3. A self-report
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